Niti Aayog’s SDG index betrays Khattar government's inefficiency: Deepender Hooda

The tall claims made by CM Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP-JJP state government in Haryana stood exposed with the latest SDG index released by the Niti Aayog that places Haryana among three states with the highest rate in unemployment and crime, Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda said on Thursday.

Quoting the data released by Niti Aayog, he said Haryana was at number one on development parameters like per capita income, investment, agricultural productivity and sports till 2014, has now slipped to the 14th position. Apart from this, Haryana has also lagged in education, industrial and economic growth, he said while addressing a video press conference.

“Haryana now ranks 12th in terms of poverty, 23rd in water sanitation, and 14th in income inequality. The Niti Aayog figures show that unemployment has increased in the state and states like Odisha have overtaken Haryana in health indicators. The government of Haryana will have to wake up and rectify the decline in every sector,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.

He said that the state government even failed to retain many projects including AIIMS-2 (Badsa), International Airport (Meham) and Rail Coach Factory (RCF), launched and sanctioned during the Congress regime, and underlined that hundreds of unemployed and needy youth would have got jobs had the projects begun in the state.

“Companies like Maruti and Honda migrated to Gujarat. Government recruitments are hanging and getting cancelled continuously. The Niti Aayog has also said that employment in the industrial sector has decreased in Haryana. After Kapurthala, the Rail Coach Factory was approved for Haryana in 2013 Rail Budget, but the Rail Coach Factory moved from Sonipat to Banaras. Similarly, the proposed airport at Meham was shifted to Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, but the weak government of Haryana could not oppose it even in suppressed tongue,” Hooda said.

He slammed the marginal increase in MSP.

“In 2015-16, the Prime Minister had announced to double the income of farmers by 2022. At that time, the MSP of paddy was Rs 1,470 and should have gone up to Rs 2940 but we are still at Rs 1940, about Rs 1,000 short of where we were promised,” he said.

“The situation of wheat is similar as the prices are at Rs 1975 instead of Rs 3250. The income will double only when the price is doubled. During this, there has been a record increase in the price of diesel, petrol and other inputs, due to which the farmer's expenditure has doubled and the income has been halved, he said.