Several initiatives taken against corruption in Haryana: CM Manohar Lal Khattar

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said the BJP-led dispensation in the state has taken several initiatives in the last six years to bring transparency in the government machinery and rein-in corruption.

"Radical changes have been made in the system by using information technology," he said.

"In the last six years, we have taken several initiatives to bring transparency in the system and rein-in corruption. These initiatives taken by Haryana to bring about reforms have been appreciated at the national level," Khattar told reporters here.

He said in the last six years, recruitment on about 85,000 government posts has been done on the basis of merit, adding that in the next five years too, merit-based recruitment will be done on more than one lakh posts.

The Chief Minister expressed confidence that the employees, who are recruited on the basis of merit, will meet the expectations of the public and stay away from corrupt practices.

Khattar announced a number of reform measures in the transport department with the main aim to curb corruption.

District transport officers (DTOs) will be appointed in all the 22 districts in place of regional transport secretaries.

After ensuring the elimination of the role of "undesirable contactmen" (middlemen) at the tehsil offices, now the public will also get rid of them at the RTA offices, be it for getting driving licences or getting vehicles passed, the Chief Minister said.

He also said after Rohtak, six inspection and certification centres to inspect and check the fitness of vehicles will be opened in six more districts -- Ambala, Karnal, Hisar, Gurugram, Faridabad and Rewari.

He further informed that automated driving test tracks will be set up in 11 districts, where driving skills will be tested and the entire test process will be computerised.

As a result, people will not have to approach the middlemen for getting their driving licences, the Chief Minister said.

He said a provision of Rs 30 crore has been made for this and these centres will be opened within a year.

Similarly, to keep a vigil on overloading of commercial vehicles, which Khattar said is a major reason behind corrupt practices, the state government has decided that portable scales will be installed on the roads and even the drivers will not get to know when the weight of their vehicles has been measured.

He said 45 portable scales have been bought by the state government and after the success of the experiment, more such portable scales will be installed in the state.

Khattar further said body cameras will be worn by the vehicle inspectors going for checking and passing of commercial vehicles, so as to ensure that the recording of the entire checking process is done and its monitoring will be carried out at the transport department's headquarters.

The Chief Minister said the problem of overloading is usually found in mining vehicles, therefore the "e-Ravana" software has been prepared by the mining department, which will now be integrated with the "Vahan" software of the transport department.

Khattar informed that at present, the number of registered commercial vehicles at the RTA offices is around 1.25 lakh and the number of employees is only 627. More recruitment will be done within a period of one year for a smooth functioning of these offices, he said.

The Chief Minister also indicated that after the RTA, he will select some other departments where there is a high probability of corruption and action on checking such corruption will be taken soon.

Replying to a question, he said in 2014-15, the excise revenue of the state was Rs 3,200 crore, which increased to Rs 6,400 in 2020-21 and is estimated to be Rs 7,000 crore by the end of the current fiscal.

To another question, Khattar said arrangements have been made by the state government to ensure that the ongoing procurement process of Kharif crops is done in a smooth and systematic manner.

"The interests of the farmers of Haryana are paramount for the state government and for this, the procurement of the crops brought by the farmers of the state is being done at the state mandis on a priority," he said.

Farmers of other states will have to get their crops registered on the state government's portal, before bringing it to the mandis of Haryana, whether it is through arhtiyas (commission agents) or at their own level, the Chief Minister said.