Hooda's Rohtak district main beneficiary
The state authorities have selected 65 villages for development as model villages, which do not include Sirsa, Mahendragarh and Panchkula, reports Navneet Sharma.
It's a big bonanza, but the districts of Sirsa, Mahendragarh and Panchkula are missing from the state government radar for development of 'model villages'.
The state authorities have selected 65 villages for development as model villages having pucca streets, streetlights, proper drainage and drinking water facilities. But not a single village from the three districts figures in the list. While Sirsa is the home district of former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, deputy chief minister Chander Mohan represents Panchkula in the state assembly. In contrast, the home districts of chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is also the development and panchayats minister, and chief parliamentary secretary, development and panchayats, Dharambir Singh are the main beneficiaries.
While 13 villages in Dharambir Singh's home district of Bhiwani are being developed as model villages, 11 villages in Rohtak district to which the chief minister belongs have been selected for major development works. The villages selected in these two districts include Kiloi, Sanghi, Nidana, Ismaila, Garhi Sampla, Suddana (Rohtak), Talu, Bhagwe, Dhardu, Tosham, Pinhokra and Kalenga (Bhiwani).
Similarly, development works are being undertaken in eight villages in Jhajjar district, another seven in Hisar district and six in Jind district. Ambala and Sonepat districts, too, have four villages each. In the backward districts such as Mewat and Fatehabad only one village each has been selected. Asked about the selection criterion, officials of Development and Panchayats Department said that there were no fixed parameters for selection of villages under the scheme.
"The names of these villages, which are to be developed, are announced by the chief minister at public meetings and other functions," they said. In each of these villages, the government plans to spend funds ranging from Rs two crore to Rs 10 crore on pucca streets, drainage system, streetlight and drinking water facilities. While the cost of development works in Lohchab is estimated to be about Rs 1.1 crore, the government would spend more than Rs 9 crore in Danauda Kalan in Jind distirct. "The estimates depend on the size of the village, the state of existing infrastructure and works required to be carried out," officials said.
The Development and Panchayats Department has given the work of over 20 villages to the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board. "Our engineering wing is already overburdened. We have decided to give work for some villages to the HSAMB so that the project can be implemented within the next eight to 10 months," an official said.