Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said in the Union Budget presented yesterday, several steps have been taken keeping in mind the interests of the farmers.

He said Wheat procurement in Rabi season 2021-22 and estimated procurement of paddy in Kharif 2021-22 will include 1208 lakh metric tonnes of wheat and paddy from 163 lakh farmers and Rs 2.37 lakh Crore of minimum support price (MSP) will be paid directly into the accounts of farmers.

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Underlining the use of new technology, the CM said estimation of agricultural crops, digitization of land documents and use of ‘Kisan Drones’ for spraying pesticides and nutrients would be promoted. The Haryana government has already constituted a Drone Authority in the state, he said.

He said that the budget has also focused on natural farming instead of using chemicals. Chemical-free natural farming will be promoted across the country, in the first phase, special attention will be given to the farmers’ lands falling under kilometers wide corridors adjacent to the river Ganga.

Khattar said a new scheme would be launched in PPP mode under which digital and hi-tech services would be provided to the farmers. For this, public sector research and extension institutions as well as private agricultural technology companies and stakeholders in the agricultural value chain will be involved.

The CM said assistance will be provided from NABARD for a mixed capital fund created under the co-investment model. The objective of this fund will be to finance start-ups related to agriculture and rural enterprises suitable for the agricultural product value chain.

He said that the Ken-Betwa Link project would be implemented at an estimated cost of Rs 44,605 Crore. The objective of this scheme is to provide irrigation facilities on 9.08 lakh hectare agricultural land. Apart from supplying drinking water to 62 lakh people, the project will also provide 103 MW hydro and 27 MW solar power.

The CM said an allocation of Rs 4,300 Crore has been made for this project in the Revised Estimates 2021-22 and Rs 1,400 Crore in 2022-23.

He said the draft detailed project reports (DPRs) of five river links and Damanganga-Pinjal, Par-Tapi-Narmada, Godavari-Krishna, Krishna-Pennar-Cauvery have been finalised. The Central government will release assistance for their implementation as soon as there is an agreement on these among the beneficiary states, the CM added.

Provision has been made in the budget for post-harvest value addition, increasing domestic consumption and branding of food products at domestic and international level, Khattar said.