HT Interview: Infra push, farmer welfare prime focus, says Haryana CM

At his official residence in Chandigarh, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini keeps his doors open for throngs of people from the state, emphasising that he is a leader with the common touch. Saini, 54, who was the BJP high command’s unexpected pick as successor to his mentor Manohar Lal Khattar last year, led the party’s dramatic third successive victory in the assembly polls. He has now set himself the task of implementing the party’s poll promises in a timebound manner. Easy-going and soft-spoken, Saini will complete a year as chief minister on March 12. In an interview HT on Wednesday, he spoke about the highlights of his tenure, his governance road map, and his priority areas. Edited excerpts:

What are the highlights of your reign so far?

In the first 100 days of my second term, I met around 1.50 lakh people and addressed about 75,000 grievances. We have also tried to accomplish the promises made in our election manifesto, including providing subsidised cooking gas at ₹500 per cylinder to 15 lakh women whose annual income is less than ₹1.80 lakh. Just after the 2024 assembly polls, we gave appointment to about 25,000 individuals whose recruitment had got stalled due to complaints made by the Congress during the assembly elections. We introduced free dialysis facility for chronic kidney patients. About 20,000 persons will benefit from this healthcare initiative. We are the first state to implement sub- classification of scheduled castes for the purpose of reservation in government jobs into two categories to provide benefit to deprived scheduled castes.

We have tried to eliminate the disputes over land possession and compensation between landowners and tenants by implementing a new law- the Haryana Lease of Agricultural Land Act, 2024.

Tenants who have been occupying Shamlat land (village common land) for over 20 years have been granted ownership rights to that land. Those occupying houses up to 500 square yards on village panchayat land have also been granted ownership rights. We have provided bonus of ₹2,000 per acre for agricultural and horticultural crops affected by adverse weather conditions during the kharif-2024 season. Haryana is the first state in the country where the purchase of 24 crops is done at minimum support price.

How the 2025-26 budget is going to be different from the previous ones?

Our government believes in consultations. So, we invited every section of the society – youth, women, lawmakers, industrial associations, start-ups, businessmen, progressive farmers, farm leaders – to seek their suggestions before finalising the budget estimates. We got around 10,000 suggestions. Our effort is that the 2025-26 budget meets the expectation of people of Haryana.

Unemployment remains an area of concern in Haryana? How do you plan to tackle it?

This is a false propaganda of the Opposition. As per the statistics of a central agency, the unemployment rate in Haryana is one of the lowest at 4.3%. The unemployment rate in neighbouring Punjab is around 9.4 %. In Himachal, it is around 9.5%, and if we look at Delhi, it is about 7.5%. We are focussing on skill development of youngsters in a big way and job creation is high on our priority. The state government will provide government jobs to 2 lakh youth.

Haryana has seen a rise in incidents of extortions, killings, firings etc. You had expressed dissatisfaction with the functioning of the police in a meeting on July 10 last year. How have the things improved since then?

We are very clear on this. There is zero tolerance as far the law and order is concerned. Gangsters operating from foreign shores and making extortion calls will be dealt with sternly.

How is the state government planning to check release of effluents in Yamuna from Panipat’s dyeing units?

We are taking stringent measures to check release of effluents in Yamuna. But a lot of this was a false propaganda by Aam Aadmi Party during the Delhi assembly polls. In fact, the Yamuna water coming from Delhi to Faridabad in Haryana was highly polluted. Haryana will lend full assistance to our Delhi government’s commitment to clean up the river.

The government is planning to reintroduce a bill to check fraudulent activities of travel agents in the coming session. Do you expect to control this trend of illegal migration?

We are bringing a bill in the coming assembly session. Our foreign co-operation department (FCD) is also actively pursuing such matters and contacting job seeking aspirants. The FCD helps the youth in pursuing education and employment opportunities abroad.

Recently, you met the Ravi-Beas Water Tribunal and called for an early final decision on the tribunal’s report of Jan 30, 1987, to enable the state to receive its share of water. Meetings between CMs of Haryana and Punjab, held at the instance of Union Jal Shakti minister have failed to break the deadlock. What is the way forward?

The Supreme Court has given its verdict in favour of Haryana – that the Ravi Beas water should be allocated to Haryana. Both Haryana and Punjab are signatories to an accord. But the politics of Punjab has stalled this. It is unfortunate. Punjab being the elder brother should not deprive the younger brother (Haryana) of its legitimate share in this water. We are in dire need of this water. Our peasantry needs this water to cultivate their farmland. Politicians of Punjab have tried to make a political capital out of this issue and failed to comply with the orders of the Supreme Court.

The Chandigarh Administration has turned down Haryana’s proposal for allotment of land in Chandigarh to build an additional Vidhan Sabha complex. How do you plan to go about the proposed project which even Punjab is opposed to?

The proposal is alive and being discussed at a higher level. Since the number of assembly seats will get increased after delimitation, there is a need to have a bigger assembly complex.

You had hinted at adoption of the uniform civil code in Haryana? How do you plan to go about it? Any time frame?

We are moving in that direction and will implement it.

The BJP promised to give ₹2,100 to women under Lado Lakshmi Yojana in its poll manifesto. When will the scheme kick off?

We have been given a mandate for five years and will fulfil all our pre-poll promises.

What will be your priorities for the next year?

Infrastructure creation will be a priority area for us. We will be setting up industrial model townships (IMTs) in 10 districts. The government is also setting up an 800-megawatt supercritical thermal power unit at Yamuna Nagar. It will be an extension of the two 300 MW units of Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Plant.

In a week, you will be completing a year after being first sworn in as chief minister of Haryana on March 12, 2024? What do you see when you look back?

People will put a stamp of approval on the performance of the past one year of my reign as chief minister on March 12 when the results of municipal polls will be announced.