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CM’s reply on governor’s address: Introduced transparency to stop ‘loot’ that prevailed during Cong govt, says Saini
Taking a dig at the Opposition, the CM said, “Can’t you see that this government has introduced a transparent system and stopped the loot that prevailed during Congress rule”
The Haryana government has detected discrepancies in about 1.30 lakh old age pension cases. These discrepancies pertaining to age, income and other criteria are being verified to ensure that only eligible beneficiaries receive the social security pension. However, the old age pension cases under scrutiny have not been discontinued. This was stated by Haryana chief minister, Nayab Saini in the state assembly on Friday while replying to the discussion on governor’s address.
Taking a dig at the Opposition, the CM said, “Can’t you see that this government has introduced a transparent system and stopped the loot that prevailed during Congress rule.”
Saini said that during the Congress rule, more than 50,000 ineligible persons were granted social security pensions. In 2011, an old-age pension scam came to light in which pensions were handed over to individuals who were either ineligible or had passed away,” the CM said.
He said at that time the state government had decided to transfer pensions directly into bank accounts of the beneficiaries. “While about 15.98 lakh persons were receiving social security pensions across 16 districts then, however, when the beneficiaries were asked to open bank accounts, only about 11.44 lakh accounts were opened, indicating that nearly five lakh individuals were fake beneficiaries,” the CM said. “Had the government examined all the 21 districts, the number of fake beneficiaries would have been even higher,” he added.
‘Strict action against ‘donkey route’ agents’
The CM said that the state government has taken several steps to enhance skills and generate employment opportunities for youth. However, if any youngster wants to go abroad, the government has established a foreign cooperation department to assist them. “We are taking strict action against agents who send youth abroad through the illegal ‘donkey route.’ To curb fraud in the name of sending people abroad and to regulate travel agents, a law has already been enacted. The government is sending youth abroad through legal channels via Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN),” Saini said.
He said under Panchjanya-2026 programme held on January 3, offer letters were issued to 210 youth for employment in Dubai. “So far, 390 youth have been sent to Israel in two phases and are getting a monthly salary of more than ₹3.38 lakh.
‘Empowering women through financial assistance’
The CM told the assembly that till January 31, 2026, over 10.5 lakh women had applied for Deendayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana through the mobile application, of which, 9,22,452 women were found eligible to receive monthly financial assistance of ₹2100.
He said that the fourth instalment ( ₹193 crore) of the scheme was deposited on February 10 directly into the accounts of the eligible women beneficiary, bringing the total disbursement under the scheme to ₹634 crore across four instalments.
Saini informed the House that ₹116.15 crore compensation for crop damage due to floods had been released to 53,821 farmers. Out of this amount, ₹35.29 crore was released for bajra, ₹27.43 crore for cotton, ₹22.91 crore for paddy and ₹14.10 crore for guar.
Responding to claims that many farmers did not receive compensation, the CM said investigation found that duplicate photographs of certain land parcels had been uploaded on the portal by patwaris. Due to this technical discrepancy, compensation amounting to ₹370.52 crore for 1,50,583 farmers could not be approved. He said the matter is under government’s consideration.
Saini refuted allegations that farmers were being cheated by reducing the weight of urea bags. The CM clarified that the traditional neem-coated urea, containing 46 % nitrogen, continues to be available in 45-kg bags at the existing price of ₹266.50 per bag, inclusive of GST. He said that there has been no change whatsoever in either the weight or the price of neem-coated urea. Farmers are receiving the same quantity at the same notified rate as before.
Saini said that on June 28, 2023, the central government notified sulphur-coated urea, branded as ‘urea gold’, as a separate and advanced fertilizer product. Urea gold contains 37% nitrogen along with 17% sulphur, making it distinct from conventional neem-coated urea.
