mango mela and mango cultivation

Chandigarh, July 4 - The 17th Mango Mela, which is an annual feature,is being organised jointly by Haryana Tourism and HorticultureDepartment, Haryana at Yadavindra Gardens, Pinjore on 5th and 6thJuly, 2008. This was disclosed by Mr.Raj Kumar, Financial Commissioner &Principal Secretary, Agriculture Department, while addressing a pressconference here today. He said that the main objective of the two-day mango mela was toencourage the farmers to adopt the latest technology to increase theirproduction and improve quality of their produce so that they might getmaximum return from their limited land holdings. The mango mela wouldalso provide a forum to mango growers to sell their produce in thedomestic and international market, he added. He said that it would also provide a common platform to the SelfHelp Groups to display and sell their products. About 30 to 40 SelfHelp groups sponsored by NABARD, PNB, Canara Bank and Khadi & VillageIndustries Board, Haryana were expected to participate in the mela.The Self Help Groups would sell not only the mango based products butalso the handloom and handicrafts products. Craftsmen registered withthe O/o D.C. Handicrafts, Ministry of Textiles, GOI were also expectedto participate in the mela, which would provide them opportunity formarketing of their goods. He stated that the farmers were being imparted training atHorticulture Training Institute, Uchani (Karnal) to encourage them totake up Mango cultivation. Four Food parks at Saha (Ambala), Dabwali(Sirsa), Narwana (Jind) and Rai (Sonipat) were being established bythe State Government to overcome the problems of processing, distresssale and to reduce post harvest losses. The Panipat town in Haryanawas known for its Pickle industry, he added. Giving details of the mela, he stated that the mango mela would beinaugurated by Mr.Harmohinder Singh Chatha, Agriculture Minister,Haryana and Mrs.Kiran Choudhry , Minister of State for tourism Haryanawould preside over the inaugural function. Dr.A.R.Kidwai, Governor,Haryana would grace the prize distribution ceremony. He said that a Food Court would also be set up in the mela, whichwould offer variety of F&B items for the visitors. In order to ensuregood quality of snacks, stalls would be put up by the Food CraftsInstitute,Faridabad, Allied Institute of Hotel Management and CulinaryArts, Panchkula and Hotel & Catering Management Institute, Chandigarh.Further, Taj Group of Hotels, Chandigarh would also put up a stall forsale of F&B items with special emphasis on mango based recipes. TheChef of Taj would also give a Demo of preparing mango based dishes onboth the days of the mela at 11.00 a.m. and at 4.00 p.m. Those whowere interested in learning the latest techniques for the preparationof mango based dishes could participate, he added. Mr.Raj Kumar said that cultural programmes would also be organizedin association with the Director, NZCC, Patiala. "Hasya Kavi Sammelan"would also be organised on July 5 and Folk Dances programme would bepresented by the groups from Punjab, Haryana, Uttrakhand and HimachalPradesh on July 6. Day Performers had also been engaged, who wouldperform Kalbelia Dance–Jaipur, Kacchi Ghori-Jaipur, PuppetShow-Jaipur, Dhol Nagara-Hodal, Bagpiper-Kaithal, Jhangam-Kaithal,Been Sapera-Panipat and Flute/Bansuri-Narwana. In addition, folkdances would also be performed throughout the day by the students fromthe schools of Kalka, Chandigarh and Panchkula, he added. Commissioner & Secretary, Tourism,Mrs. Keshni Anand Arora, statedthat on both the evenings, special cultural programmes would beorganised through the teams deputed by NZCC, Patiala. The attractionsfor the students in the mela were Rangoli, Fancy DressCompetition,Mango Cutout competition and Mango Quiz, etc. She said that a convention hall with the facilities of threeconferencing hall and parking capacity of 500 vehicles was beingconstructed near Hotel Rajhans, which would be completed by the end ofthe next month. Similar, convention halls were also being constructedat Rohtak and Bhiwani. Managing Director, Haryana Tourism Corporation,Mrs. Satwanti Ahlawat stated that the Mango Mela was much awaitedactivity for the residents of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. Manyfeatures/competitions had been added to make it more interesting forthe students and for the families. Director Horticulture Haryana, Dr. Satyavir Singh stated thatintensive efforts were being made to provide all facilities to themango growers of the region. The mango mela would provide excellentopportunity for the people to see and taste good quality mangoes. TheDepartment of Horticulture right from its establishment in the year1991 had laid special emphasis on Mango cultivation in Haryana. TheMango Mela, as usual, had display & competition sections in fourcategories i,e Category A & B were for the Mango Growers and theCategory C & D were for the Mango Products, he added. Later replying to a question, Dr.Satyavir Singh said that effortswould be made to export mango from Haryana. Good quality mango wasstill being exported from the State. Scientists from HaryanaAgricultural University, Hisar had been invited to visit the Mela sothat mango growers could be apprised of the latest techniques toimprove the quality of the fruit. He said that the area under mango fruit cultivation had beenincreased from 3553 hectares in 1990-91 to 8900 hectares in 2007-08and its production from 19,900 metric tonnes to 68,000 metric tonnes.A target had been fixed to plant mango trees on 320 hectares ofadditional land in the year 2008-09. Special stress was being laid onpost harvest management of fruit crops. Saplings of fruit trees werebeing planted on the land, on which agriculture crops were not beinggrown so that food grain production might not be affected. The areaunder fruit trees would be doubled by 2011. At present, Haryanaoccupied fifth or sixth place in mango production in the country, headded. He said that budget for Horticulture Department had also beenincreased from a meagre Rs.96 lakh in 2005-06 to Rs.235 crore in2008-09. Subsidy ranging from 25 per cent to 100 per cent was beingprovided on horticulture crops, he added.

UHBVN and CFL distribution

July 2 – Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam in collaborationwith OSRAM GmbH has decided to launch Compact Florescent LampsDistribution Project in the districts of Sonipat and Yamunangar by theend of this month for savings electricity in both these districts. TheProject envisages distribution of as many as 5.40 lakh long life CFLsin Yamunanagar and Sonipat which would bring considerable reduction ofelectricity consumption in these districts.An agreement to this effect was signed here today by Uttar HaryanaBijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and OSRAM GmbH for the implementation ofClean Development Mechanism Compact Florescent Lamps (CFLs)Distribution Project. The agreement was signed by the ManagingDirector UHBVN, Mr. A. K. Singh and Managing Director, OSRAM, Mr GaganMehta as per the guidelines of Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Governmentof India.Speaking on the occasion, Mr. A. K. Singh said that UNBVN also plannedto make an agreement for district Rohtak, Jhajjar and Panipat in thesecond phase. He said that the target group of the project comprisedthe households that were the registered customers of UHBVN. Under theProject, the households could substitute upto 2 incandescent lightbulbs (GLS Bulbs) in their homes by CFL lamps. The households werefree to decide whether to participate in the project or not. Only GLSbulbs with wattages equal to or higher than 60 watts would bereplaced. The 100 W GLS bulbs would be replaced with 20 W CFL and 60W GLS bulbs would be replaced with 15 W CFL. At the time of thedistribution of the CFLs, the substituted GLS bulbs would be collectedand later destroyed to make sure that they would not be used again.Mr Singh said that in each district, a team would visit door to doorto distribute the CFLs to the project household. Initially the membersof the team would inform the people about the project at their homes.If the household agreed to participate in the Project, thedistribution team would install CFLs with the applicable wattage uptotwo light points. Subsequently, the distribution team would collectthe substituted GLS bulbs. The project would be accompanied by anawareness generating campaign. CFLs failed during the fist 12 monthsafter distribution would be replaced by OSRAM.He said that the Project would lead to considerable electricityconsumption savings in the households that take part in the project. The project would reduce consumption of fossil fuel based generatedelectricity and thus reduce GHG emissions. The cost of the lamp at therate of Rs. 15 per lamp would be recovered from the household whichwas mainly the cost of collection and disposal of collected GLS lampsand fused CFLs as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Environmentand Forests. The Project had already been cleared by the Ministry andwas under validation and approval from United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).The Managing Director said that both the parties who had signed theagreement were contemplating the development of Clean DevelopmentProgrammed actively using an approved methodology pursuant to theClean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol applied toresidential lighting for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissionsresulting in sustainable energy savings in Yamunanagar and Sonipatdistricts.He said that the Bureau of Energy Efficiency would be the monitoringAgency for the Project. UHBVN would support OSRAM in operating theProject in Yamunangar and Sonipat Districts with manpower andmarketing measures for implementing the project. OSRAM would benefitfrom Certified Emission Reduction units generated from the Project.

national level workshop for ecbc

July 3 - The Haryana Renewable Energy Department inassociation with Bureau of Energy Efficiency would organize a NationalLevel Workshop for promoting Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC)at Hotel Crown Plaza Gurgaon, for architects, engineers and privatebuilders on July 11 2008.While giving this information here today the Haryana Renewable EnergyDepartment and Hareda Director Mrs. Sumita Mishra said that the mainaim of the workshop is to bridge the information and knowledge gap onenergy efficient building designs. She said that the workshop wouldprovide information and create awareness about the fundamentals ofEnergy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) of the Central Bureau ofEnergy Efficiency and technological options along with theachievements in the Energy Efficiency in building operationalstrategies.She said that on the occasion Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. BhupinderSingh Hooda would be the chief guest and he would also release aHandbook on 'Energy Conservation Tips for Homes and CommercialBuildings'.She said that the workshop will have two sessions. The technicalSession I on 'Regulatory Framework For energy Efficient Buildings –Fundamentals and Technologies' would be chaired by FinancialCommissioner and Principle Secretary to Government of Haryana- Townand Country Planning Department Mr.D.S.Dhesi IAS and Co Chairman onthe occasion would be Joint Secretary, Ministry of Power Government ofIndia Mr. Devinder Singh IAS. Similarly Technical Session II on'Achieving Energy Efficient Buildings – Operational Strategies' wouldbe chaired by Financial Commissioner and Principle Secretary toGovernment of Haryana PWD(B&R) and Architecture Department Mr.K.K.Jalan,IAS, the Co-Chairperson on the occasion would be theDirector Haryana Renewable Energy Department and Hareda Mrs. SumitaMishra, IAS.The Workshop would also be attended by Administrative Secretaries,Head of Departments, Architects and Engineers of ArchitectureDepartment, Housing Board, HUDA, Tourism, Police Housing Corporation,Urban Development and Town & Country Planning Department etc. alongwith Builders, Developers of NCR region, the representatives from theMinistry of Power, BEE, CII, FICCI etc. and representatives from allthe State Nodal Agencies implementing energy conservation programmesin the country, she added.

energy conservation award

June 27 - The Haryana Government has announced givingEnergy Conservation Awards upto Rs. one lakh to promote the use ofsolar energy in small, medium and large scale industries, educationalinstitutes, commercial buildings, hotels, hospitals and shoppingmalls/plazas. While disclosing this here today, Haryana Deputy ChiefMinister, Mr. Chander Mohan said that the Haryana Government hadimplemented Energy Conservation Act in the State. Under the Act, the use of solar water heating systems, CFLs,T-5 tubelights in Government buildings, educational institutes, boardsand corporations had been made mandatory, besides giving cashincentives on the use of ISI marked motor pump sets to promote energyconservation in agriculture sector as well, he added. The Deputy Chief Minister pointed out that as per instructions ofthe State Government an action plan on energy saving had been approvedby the Energy Conservation Department. Mr. Chander Mohan said that the small, medium and large scaleindustries would be divided into two categories- HT and LT and beconferred on awards at State level. A cash amount of Rs. one lakh,Rs.50,000 and Rs.25,000, besides a certificate and a shield would begiven under first, second and third award respectively to theindustries falling into HT category, whereas LT category industrieswould be given a cash amount of Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 25,000 by way offirst and second award respectively. Similarly, educational institute would be conferred on first,second and third awards of Rs. one lakh, 50,000 and 25,000respectively. Commercial buildings, hotels, hospitals and malls wouldalso be given awards upto Rs. one lakh. The concerned establishmentswould have to submit data of their energy consumption of three yearsi.e. from January, 2005 to December, 2007, besides attested copies oftheir electricity bills, he added.

agriculture department, green manuring

June 28 - With a view to promote green manuring, HaryanaAgriculture Department has a plan to distribute 33,600 quintals ofDhaincha seed involving an investment of over Rs six crore to cover2.80 lakh hectares of area during the current financial years.While stating this here today, a spokesman of Agriculture Departmentsaid that it would also help in restoring the health of soil andreduce use of chemical fertilizers. He said that 31,299 quintals ofDhaincha seed costing Rs 4.84 crore was provided to farmers free ofcost to cover an area of 2.60 lakh hectares under green manuringduring the last financial year.He said that the Department has a plan to organise 1050 schools onKharif and 50 on Rabi crops during the current financial year toimpart training to farmers on judicious use of chemical fertilizers,pesticides and weedicides. During the last financial year, 908Farmers' Field Schools were organised for Kharif and 30 for Rabicrops. These schools had benefitted more than 28,000 farmers.He said that the farmers were also being educated to make increasedused of sprinkler and drip irrigation methods for agriculture. Bothagriculture and horticulture departments were implementing schemes toprovide subsidy to farmers to install sprinkler sets.The sprinkler sets have been found very suitable in south-westernregion of the State as in that area the soil is sandy and thetopography undulating. The drip irrigation system have been found tobe very suitable for horticultural and vegetable crops. He said thatthe Department of Horticulture was also implementing a Centrallysponsored Micro Irrigation Scheme under which 50 per cent subsidy wasbeing given to install drip and sprinkler systems. During the lastfinancial year, 2012 sets of sprinkler irrigation were distributedamong the farmers with a subsidy of 50 per cent.He said that the Department has succeeded in reducing the area undersummer paddy (Saathi) from 40,000 hectares to merely 488 hectares asthis water guzzling crop consumes 5500 liters of water for everykilogram of rice produced. This has been made possible by motivatingthe farmers. This crop was being transplanted in the month of May, headded.

renewable energy project

June 29 -The Department of Renewable Energy, Haryana hasprepared an ambitious scheme to tap solar engery in the State. Underthe scheme, one Solar Educational Kit would be provided in all the3000 Secondary schools in the State.While disclosing this here today, a spokesman of the Department saidthat the State Government and Central Government would bear the costof the scheme in the ratio of 50:50. The Central Government hadalready released over Rs. 24.33 lakh by way of itsshare.He said that as many as 15 Solar Power Plants of 1 KW each in 13 subdivisions of Sirsa and 2 Sub divisions of Faridabad would be set upat a cost of about Rs. 52.50 lakh. By using one such power plant, twoT-5 Retrofit Tubelights of 28-watt each, 10 CFLS of 20-watt each and 6ceiling fans of 50-watt each could be run in each sub division officefor four days, he added.He said that the Department had also prepared an innovative scheme torun the computer labs with solar energy. Under the scheme, 21 SPVpower plants of 2.7 KW capacity each would be installed in 21 schoolsof Rohtak district at a cost of Rs. 168 lakh. The process ofinstalling solar energy power plants had already begun. It may bementioned that MoUs with 10 firms had also been signed by theDepartment to set up 23 biomass proejcts, 3 small hydro projects and 4wind energy based power projects to generate 697.70 MW of power withan investment of Rs.3278 crore, he added.The spokesman said that the department of Renewable Energy Haryanaand Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA) had got aprivilege of getting three National Awards one each for theimplementation of Solar Cooker Programme, Solar Urban Programme andSPV demonstration programme.

hoticulture press release

Chandigarh, June 25 - Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hoodasaid that Haryana Government had increased the 235 per cent budget ofHorticulture Department during last three years which is an all timehigh record as the budget for the year 2004-05 was merely Rs 96 lakhand now it had been increased to Rs. 235.93 crore.This was disclosed by the Chief Minister while presiding over areview meeting of Horticulture Department and the schemes beinglaunched under National Horticulture Mission and Micro Irrigationschemes here today.The Chief Minister said that the biggest action plan of NationalHorticulture Mission had been launched in the state which shows that arevolution had ushered in the field of horticulture in the State. Hesaid that two projects with the collaboration of Israel Governmentwould be launched in the State soon, one at Karnal and other at Sirsa.He said that Ambassador of Isreal had recently visited Karnal to seethe site and a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed betweenIsreal and Government of India. The work on Karnal project would startin the end of the July.Mr. Hooda said that under the Micro Irrigation Scheme, 80 per centamount was being incurred by the Government of India and 20 per centby the State Government. He directed the Director, Horticulture thatthe assistance to the tune of 90 per cent should be provided to thefarmers. He directed the Vice-Chancellor of Haryana AgricultureUniversity, Hisar that 15 acres of land should be given to theHorticulture Department for setting up of Isreal-Indo project atUcchani in district Karnal.The Chief Minister exhorted the agriculture scientists that maximumattention should be paid towards the production of quality seeds. Hesaid that for seed production about Rs four crore had been allocatedwhile for the nursery development a sum of Rs 2.16 crore had beenearmarked. He also directed the officers of all department that to getoptimum use of allocated amount. An expenditure of Rs. 42.99 crore hadbeen made under different activities including farm ponds and areaexpansion under fruit plantation.While referring the scheme of Water Conservation being launched inthe State, the Chief Minister said that the water conservation as farmpond had become quite popular which was an initiative of theHorticulture Department. As many as 408 farm ponds had beenconstructed so for and 214 were under construction besides a target ofconstructing 453 community tanks had been earmarked during the currentfinancial year at a cost of Rs. 31.72 crore.The Chief Minister directed the Horticulture Authorities that tissueculture lab of Karnal should be expanded so that maximum seeds andplant of potato, bananas could be prepared. As many as 70,000 plantsof bananas were prepared during last year in this lab while 1.25 lakhbanana trees would be prepared during the current financial yearthrough tissue culture.Mr. Hooda directed that maximum publicity of the schemes beinglaunched by the Horticulture Department should be ensured throughHaryana Samvad, Haryana Review, Jai Haryana and Community Radios.He said that a factory would be set up of grinding turmeric at Radaurand 17,000 tonnes seeds of turmeric had already been distributed amongthe farmers. He also directed the authorities of Haryana AgroIndustries Corporation that the closed processing units at Murthal bestarted again.Agriculture Minister, Mr. H.S. Chatha said that the Department wasgiving a subsidy of 25 per cent for creation of infrastructure andduring 2006-07 the total subsidy of Rs 16.82 crore was released toHaryana Agriculture Marketing Board besides 100 collection centreswere being set up in the State.Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Mr. M.L. Tayal stressed theneed that the review of the schemes of the department should be takenquarterly so that maximum benefit could be given to the farmers asabout 20,000 farmers directly associated with the horticulture. On the occasion Parliamentary Secretary, Mr. Dura Ram, FinancialCommissioner and Principal Secretary, Agriculture, Mr. Raj Kumar,Chief Administrator, Haryana Agriculture Marketing Board, Mr. RamNiwas, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Mr. R.D.Sheokand and Director Horticulture Dr. Satbir Singh were also present.

veterniary press release

Chandigarh, June 26-Veterinary Specialists of Ch.Charan Singh HaryanaAgricultural University, Hisar has appealed the cattle breeders to gettheir cattle vaccinated against fatal infectious diseases to keep themhealthy in the rainy season.Cows and buffaloes are more prone to the infectious diseases such asHaemorragic Septiciamia (HS), Rinderpest, Black-water, foot and mouthdisease in the rainy season. Cattle breeders can provide veterinaryhealth cover to their livestock by getting them vaccinated againstfatal infectious diseases free of cost from Veterinary Hospitals.In case any animal gets infected, the animal should be treated inisolation and in case of death of an animal owing to any infectiousdisease, dead body of the animal should be buried outside city orvillage. The urine and dung of such animals should also be buried in apit and lime should be poured on these pits to avoid spread of virusof infectious disease.Cattle breeders should also take care whether their animals aretaking fodder properly or not and not taking fodder by the animals arethe symptoms of their being sick and they need immediate medical aid.

Water for Sc's

Chandigarh, June 18 - The Haryana Chief Minister Mr. Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that Haryana Government had earmarked a sum of Rs. 155 crore during the current financial year under an innovative Indira Gandhi Water supply scheme for providing eight lakh water supply connections free of cost to the families belonging to scheduled castes in the State and out of these 3.82 lakh connections had already been given to the beneficiaries so far. The Chief Minister was addressing a gathering after inaugurating a boosting station at Bank Colony Bhiwani and water works at Village Ajitpur near Bhiwani today. Mr. Hooda said that the water supply scheme of Ajitpur had been constructed at a cost of Rs. 1.79 crore and 8346 population of three villages namely Ajitpur, Dhana Narsan and Dhana Ladanpur would get 70 liter water per capita per day. Similarly, the boosting station of Bank colony had been constructed at a cost of Rs. 1.10 crore and it would serve 9601 population of the colony and they would get 150 liter water per capita per day.

Plantation area in haryana

Chandigarh, May 31- In Haryana, an area of more than 19,600 hectares has been brought under plantation at a cost of Rs 43 crore during the tenth Five Year Plan with the help of 20 Forest Development Agencies (FDAs).> This was revealed at a day long workshop on implementation of National Afforestation Programme (NAP) held at Pinjore near here today where stress was laid on active involvement of women in joint management of forests. The workshop was organised under the aegis of Haryana Forest Department and Agriculture Finance Corporation (AFC). It was sponsored by National Afforestation and Eco-development Board (NAEB). The main objective of the workshop was to share experience regarding the NAP. Conceptualized in the tenth Five Year Plan, this programme aims at improving forest resources in the country. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Dr. J.K. Rawat delivered the keynote address. He said that National Forest Policy 1988 envisages 33 per cent forest and tree cover. For achieving the goal of National Forest Policy, about 30-35 million hectares of plantation is needed. Out of this, only five million can be done in forest areas. This means we must explore areas outside forests for plantations. He said that Panchayat land and institutional land should be brought under plantation and more thrust should be given to Agro-forestry. He further suggested that women should be actively involved in Joint Forest Management. It was informed that under National Afforestation Programme, the FDAs are formed in the forest divisions with Conservator of Forests as its chairman and Divisional Forest Officers (DFO) as its member secretary. FDA incorporates integrated approach for improving the forest cover with the active participation of all line departments and most importantly involving local people. In FDA schemes, funds are made available directly to Forest Divisions from government of India. This is done to ensure timely and assured availability of budget to the implementation agency. A sizeable amount of money is allocated for the development of communities. The Coordinator of Regional Centre, Dr. Rakesh Malhotra said apprised the delegates about the proposed changes in FDA scheme in the eleventh Five Year Plan. Field Officers from various district of Haryana and members of JFMCs actively participated in the discussions. The Technical Sessions were chaired by Mr S.K. Dhar, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Haryana. Workshop was attended by Chief Conservator of Forests, Conservator of Forests, Divisional Forest Officers, Range Officers, Block Officers and members of Joint Forest Management Committees from various districts of the state.

Pollution of river yamuna

Chandigarh, May 31- Haryana Government has taken up the issue of pollution in river Yamuna with Chief Ministers of neighbouring Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and this being an inter-state pollution problem, it has also impressed upon the Central Pollution Control Board to direct these two State Governments to control pollution in river Yamuna. While disclosing this here today, Haryana Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Mrs Kiran Choudhry said in a press conference that Haryana government has sent a written communication to Chief Ministers of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh urging them take effective steps to control pollution in river Yamuna in their territory as this river is badly polluted in Delhi territory. She said that 21 drains of Delhi and one drain of Uttar Pradesh that is Shadra drain carry untreated or partially treated effluent into river Yamuna.She said that the quality of Agra and Gurgaon canals was badly affected because of the pollution caused by Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in river Yamuna. Mrs Choudhry said that Haryana State Pollution Control Board has been monitoring the quality of water in river Yamuna by regularly taking samples of its own and periodically jointly with the Central Pollution Control Board. She said that the Haryana Government was conscious about its commitment for clean environment in the State and had taken effective measures to control pollution in river Yamuna. The quality of river Yamuna at village Palla on Haryana-Delhi border is very good since the BOD level is well within the permissible limits which ranges from 1.44 to 2.76 milligram per liter against the permissible limit of three milligram per liter. She said that Central Pollution Control Board has recommended that the waste of plastic carry bags can be used for carpeting and construction of roads. Technical know how for this purpose to construct road by using 5 to 10 per cent of waste plastic has been suggested to the Engineer-in-Chief, Public Works (Building and Roads) Department to use plastic waste in construction and carpeting of roads. As waste plastic carry bags are littered at public places which causes clogging and choking of drainage, this step would not only help and ensure clog free flow in the drainage but would also lend some strength and durability to roads besides truncating the cost on bitumen. She said that with a view to form a comprehensive policy for management of Bio Medical Waste, the Pollution Control Board has convened a meeting of all Chief Medical Officers, Director General Health Service, Haryana and also invited Directors of PGIMER Chandigarh, Government Medical Hospital, Sector-32, Chandigarh and PGIMES, Rohtak in the first week of June, 2008 . The policy would include prevention of recycling of used needles, safe incineration of infectious bio-medical waste and scientific disposal through common service provider which should have all facilities such as incinerator (double chambered), shredder, needle destroyer as per the guidelines of Central Pollution Control Board. The policy and system to dispose of Bio Medical Waste would be environmentally sound and would not cause any dent on the environment. She said that State Government has gone a step ahead in restricting the use of plastic carry bags and encouraging recycling of waste plastic carry bags by issuing a notification dated January 15, 2008 wherein minimum thickness of plastic carry bag has been raised from 20 microns to 30 microns with minimum size of 8"x12". Awareness is being created among the general public by issuing advertisement through press and organizing seminars involving school childrens through Eco Clubs. She said that the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, has, vide Environment Impact Assessment notification dated September 14, 2006 made it mandatory for building construction projects including Shopping Malls, Commercial Complexes, Housing Complexes and Townships having built up area of 20,000 sq. mtrs. or more to obtain environmental clearance under the said notification.The Central Government has granted environmental clearance to such projects after considering various environmental concerns such as rain water harvesting, use of solar panels, green belt, sewage treatment plant,> noise control in Diesel Generator (DG) sets. She said that now the Central government has constituted the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority under the Chairpersonship of Mrs. Promilla Issar, Chief Secretary Haryana(Retd.) and State Level Expert Appraisal Committee vide notification dated April 21, 2008 which will be granting environmental clearance to such projects. The said authority would take care of various environmental issues before granting environmental clearance such as provision of sewage treatment plant, provision of 25 per cent area as green belt, proper parking arrangements, noise and emission control in DG sets, rain water harvesting, recycling of treated waste water. This will ensure that ground water does not get adversely affected to a great extent. She said that the Board has created dynamic website to display latest NOC Status of various projects so as to facilitate the entrepreneurs. The Board has know constituted a Single Technical Advisory Committee to examine the NOC cases which will include the representative of Pollution Control Board, Environment Department, Town and Country Planning Department and Forest Department. She said that under the scheme of National Green Corps sponsored by Union Ministry of Environment and Forests,about 4000 Eco clubs have been formed in various schools in the State. These clubs help students in understanding various aspects of environment and its importance in conserving natural resources. Regional officers have been advised to visit at least one school or college for showing films or deliver talks on Environment to create awareness among students, she added.

Plant Tissue Culture Centre At Uchani, Karnal

Chandigarh, June 10 – Haryana Horticulture Department has decided tostart a Horticulture Bio-Technology Centre near Horticulture TrainingCentre, Uchani at Karnal at a cost of Rs. 10 lakh to produce tissueCulture Plants.While stating this here today, the Agriculture Minister, Mr.Harmohinder Singh Chatha said that the Centre would be set up to keeppace with the modern science. Horticulture Bio-Technology Centre wouldproduce Tissue Culture of horticulture crops of Banana, Patato Microtubers, cutting of flowers crops and other horticultural crops. Planttissue culture which was a useful tool for the rapid production ofmany genetically identical plants using relatively small amounts ofspace, supplies and time would be extensively used for giving a majorfillip to horticultural activities in the state. The Centre would alsocater to introduce the concept of DNA finger printing and popularizingthe virus indexing technology.The Minister said that the Department would also spend a sum of Rs. 92lakh for popularization and extension of latest technologies inHorticulture. Shows, Seminars and Field Days would be organized atgovernment garden and nurseries and farmers' fields in each districtthroughout the state to create awareness about latest technologies andmotivate farmers to adopt these practices in the cultivation of theirhorticultural crops. Training and visit of Field Staff and the farmerswould also be organized within and outside the state. Furthermoreproduction of quality planting material by bio technology especiallythrough Tissue culture would be given impetus. Similarly, good plantsand seed varieties would be popularized through selling atsubsidized rates, he added.Mr. Chatha said that subsidy of Rs. 25500 per unit would be given forestablishing new mushroom units under the scheme for MushroomDevelopment in Haryana State and budget provision of Rs. 35 lakh hadbeen earmarked for the current financial year for the purpose. Thescheme was being implemented in the non National HorticultureMission(NHM) districts where mushroom cultivation was not taken underNHM. Assistance would also be given on mushroom trays in existingunits at a rate of Rs. 60 per tray and 250 trays each farmer. Asubsidy of Rs. 75000 per unit which was 25 per cent would also begiven as assistance on pasturised compost units.He said that a sum of Rs. 34 lakh had also been earmarked for thedevelopment and promotion of Organic Farming in Horticulture whichwould be spent in Non-NHM districts. Assistance on area adoption underorganic farming and on vermi compost unit would be provided.

Environment Day celebrations

Chandigarh, June 5: Haryana Government today, on the occasion of World Environment Day, launched a special six-month long drive to educate the people about norms to conserve environment and decided to challan those who would be found violating these norms after completion of the special awareness drive. This was stated by Haryana Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Mrs Kiran Choudhry while addressing a press conference at a State Level Function organised at Yadvindra Gardens, Pinjore, near here today to mark World Environment Day. The Minister launched the awareness drive by herself joining others in pasting stickers on vehicles passing by the famous Mughal Gardens on the National Highway No 22. She said that such defaulters would include polluting industries, hospitals and clinics for bio medical waste, HUDA and Water Supply and Sanitation Department for maintaing sewage plants, municipal bodies for solid waste management, mining, owners of stone crushers, diesel sets, hotmix plants, washing and screening plants and manufacturers and users of plastic carry bags. She made it clear that penalisation of glaring violations was being done now,but after six months surprise checks would be carried out all through the State and those found violating the norms would invite stern action against themselves. The Minister said that 20,000 vehicles throughout the State were to be targeted by the school children which would be pasted with stickers bearing slogans on environment to celebrate the World Environment Day. She said that these school children would target the vehicles crossing the toll plazas, major district highways, main National Highways and Indian Oil Corporation petrol pumps running within the State. The main aim of this awareness campaign was to disseminate the message of environment conservation to maximum people and to spread awareness through these vehicles across the country. she added. She said that free pollution check up camps were also organised across the State to help the vehicle owners know about the pollution emission levels of their vehicles. In reply to a question, Environment Minister said that to check the pollution norms especially in the National Capital Region, regular monitoring was being done by the State Pollution Control Board. The Minister said that it was the need of the hour to create environment awareness among the masses. She appealed to the children and especially to the media persons to disseminate the message on environment conservation as they were the powerful mediums to carry this national message across the globe. She said that this was not just a Government led campaign but a campaign of each and every citizen of the country. She said that the Haryana Government was taking many preventing measures to minimize the pollution levels in the State by way of posters, to educate the farmers not to burn paddy straw in the open fields and by taking conservation measures through stickers, by placing hoardings on Roadways buses and other public places and offices. She said that the Government had organised poster and painting competition, environment quiz, slogan writing, essay competition, rallies and tree plantation among the school children through the Eco clubs of the State. To celebrate the Environment Day, films on environment issues and dramas highlighting the importance of environment were also being organised at public places so as to create awareness among the general Public. She said that the Haryana Pollution Control Board was planning a common treatment and storage facility for disposal of hazardous waste for proper and scientific disposal of hazardous waste. As many as 4000 Eco clubs have been set up in the various schools through out the State.The State Environment Impact Assessment Authority and State Level Expert Appraisal Committee had been constituted for granting environmental clearance to sewage treatment plants, for provision of 25 per cent area as green belt, proper parking arrangements, noise and emission control in Diesel Generator sets, rain water harvesting, recycling of treated waste water. It had also given a proposal to the Department of PWD B and R to construct road by using 5 to 10 per cent of waste plastic. This would help in cleaning the environment to a greater extent. The State Government has gone a step ahead in restricting the use of plastic carry bags and encouraging recycling of waste plastic carry bags and had set the minimum thickness of plastic carry bag to 30 microns with minimum size of 8"x12". The Haryana State Pollution Control Board has also written to the Central Pollution Control Board to direct the State of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh for controlling pollution in river Yamuna as it being a interstate pollution problem. State Pollution Control Board has also been monitoring the quality of water in river Yamuna by taking regular samples of its own and periodical joint samples with Central Pollution Control Board.

June 4, Haryana to celebrate world environment day

Chandigarh, June 4: Haryana Government would celebrate the World EnvironmentDay on June 5 by organizing the various environment related awarenessprogrammes at all district head quarters of the State.Disclosing this here today, Minister of State for Environment and Forests,Tourism, Sports and Youth Affairs, Mrs Kiran Choudhry said that rallies,posters and painting competitions, tree plantation would be organized by thestudents of eco clubs and an environmental movie would be screened for theschool children all across the State. She said that 'Environment Week' wouldbe organized from June 5 to 12 and various awareness campaigns regardingenvironment would be held at Faridabad, Bhiwani, Panchkula, Yamuna Nagar,Mahanderagarh, Sonipat, Panipat, Gurgaon and BahadurgarhThe Minister further informed that a State Level World Environment Day wouldbe celebrated at Pinjore Gardens in district Panchkula. She said thatenvironment slogan stickers would be put by the school children on thevehicles crossing the National Highway and a drama 'Say No To Plastic CarryBag' would be staged on this occasion. In the evening All India KaviSammelan would be organised at Rukmani Devi Hall at Ambala Cantt.Mrs Choudhry urged the various organisations, individuals, business orGovernment bodies of the State to dedicate this day to the Environment byplanting trees, organising Environment related seminars, competitions andby conducting various other activities. She said that children are the bestambassadors to spread awareness about the clean environment and it was veryimportant to inculcate the environment friendly habits in them at young age.She said that the theme for World Environment Day this year is climatechange and with focus on moving towards a low carbon economy and lifestyle.She said that the international slogan for the event is CO2-Kick the Habittowards a Low Carbon Economy and also include the role of forestconservation and sustainable forestry in achieving domestic global climatechange.

Chandigarh, June 3, State Environment Council Meet

Chandigarh, June 3: The Haryana Governor Dr. A.R. Kidwai and the Chief Minister Mr. Bhupinder Singh Hooda both were of the opinion that the problems of use of oxytocin on plants and animals, bio-medical waste, air pollution and waste water should be properly checked and existing labour laws, rules and regulations should be properly implemented to solve these problems for keeping the environment clean and healthy in the State. This was revealed in the 16th meeting of the State Environment Protection Council, Haryana held at Raj Bhavan here today under the chairmanship of the Haryana Governor Dr. A.R.Kidwai who is also the Chairman of this Council. The Governor said that the problem of recharging the ground water should be taken up seriously especially for the southern Haryana as the water table in that part of the State had gone very low. For this purpose large tanks and a big recharging web should be prepared at different places of the State, the Governor suggested. This was also informed in the meeting that the farmers of the State were being educated to make use of sprinkler and drip irrigation methods in agriculture for judicious use of irrigation water for agriculture and horticulture. The Chief Minister said that the subsidy to farmers on sprinkler and drip irrigation methods should be increased up to 90 per cent so that maximum use of these methods could be made by the farmers in the State. He informed that during the regime of the present State Government irrigation water had been supplied to those parched areas of the State where it reached never before. This was also decided in the meeting that the artificial rain water harvesting system adopted by all the existing Government buildings, schools, colleges, universities and educational institutions in the State would be monitored and implemented properly with a view to recharging ground water. This was also informed in the meeting that as many as 38 bio-gas plants had been installed in Gowshalas of the State and these plants were being looked after and maintained properly for their proper functioning. This was also observed in the meeting that unauthorized dyeing units which were growing rapidly in the outskirts of some cities of the State should be checked properly. It was also observed in the meeting that the plastic carry bags should be used for carpeting and re-carpeting of roads after their conversion into petroleum products as it was being done successfully in Bangalore. It was decided in the meeting that in Haryana also this work should be done on experimental basis for carpeting a small stretch of road on pilot basis. Some members also suggested that condemned vehicles especially taxis and tempos which are frequently used especially in Faridabad and Gurgaon should be properly banned for keeping these mega cities air pollution free and other health hazards. It was also observed that reuse and recycling of industrial waste water and domestic should be encouraged for which dual lines were suggested to be made mandatory for all new buildings to be constructed in the State. It was also observed in the meeting that functioning of the outsourcing agencies in disposing of the bio-medical waste in the various hospitals of the State should be inspected regularly and a survey should be made to check this problem effectively. This was also suggested in the meeting that the implementation of the bio-medical waste rules in the State of Haryana should also be made mandatory in all the hospitals, nursing homes and dispensaries of the State. This was also advocating strongly in the meeting that there was an urgent need for the conservation of the water bodies and wet lands like Braham Sarovar at Kurukshetra, Sarovar at Pehowa, Phaglu Sarovar at Pharal and Pond at Pundri etc. as these ponds and lakes serve a big source of recharging of ground water. The Finance Minister, Mr. Birender Singh, Education Minister, Mr. Mange Ram Gupta, Urban Local Bodies Minister, Mr. A.C. Chaudhary, Minister of State for Environment and Tourism Mrs. Kiran Choudhry, Dr. Shiv Shankar Bhardwaj, Mr. Subhash Chaudhary, both MLAs, Haryana Chief Secretary, Mr. Dharam Vir, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Mr. M.L. Tayal, Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary, Finance Department Mr. S.P. Sharma, Financial Commissioner & Principal Secretary, Mr. R.N. Prasher, Commissioner & Secretary, Environment Department Mr. Y.S. Malik, Chief Administrator HUDA, Mr. S.S. Dhillon, Senior Officers of Forests and Environment, Public Health, Agriculture, Finance, Urban Development, Education Departments and Haryana State Pollution Control Board also attended this meeting. Mr. Vijai Vardhan, Director, Environment Department, Haryana conducted the proceedings of the meeting.

Renewable Energy Park, Feb 3 2007

Chandigarh, February 3 - The Haryana Government has sanctioned a sum of Rs. 77.33 lakh for Rajiv Gandhi Renewable Engery Park being set up at Leisure Valley, City Centre, Sector 29, Gurgaon and this park would be ready by July 31, 2007.

While giving this information here today, the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. Chander Mohan said that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources (MNRE) Government of India had sanctioned a state level energy park for the Haryana State to be set up at a cost of Rs. 1.50 crore . He said that Haryana Urban Development Authority, Gurgaon had allotted 1.6 acres of land for this purpose.

Mr. Chander Mohan said that main aim of constructing a energy park was to create awareness among the masses about the new technologies developed in the area of renewable energy besides apprising the people about the conservation of energy and their socio-environmental benefits. He said that MNRE had provided a financial assistance of Rs. 72.67 lakh for the procurement of devices and the cost incurred in the incorporation of solar passive concepts in the buildings of the parks. He said that the park would have a technology area besides special pavillion for the students which would have various attractive games working models and quizes. As much as 10 KW solar power plant requirement would be met by the technology park.

He said that the park would have demonstration of various plant species like Jatropha, which might provide non-edible oil used in making bio-diesel. Energy park building would be constructed on the concept of energy efficiency and solar passive architecture. He said that the work on the same had already been allotted to HUDA and a sum of Rs. 74.80 lakh had already been released by the Renewable Energy Department to HUDA.

Sept 20th

September 20 - Giving major relief to sawmills located in
Haryana, the state Forests Department has decided to make fresh
assessment of timber available and required in the State.
The Haryana Minister of State for Forests, Mrs. Kiran Choudhry
informed that the license to wood based units would be granted on the basis of assessment made by the Department. She said that as per the judgement of the Supreme Court, 1424 wood based industries established after October 30, 2002 had been closed in the State out of which 1100 were saw mills. She further stated that most of these saw mills were located in the remote rural areas of the State and a number of these were being carried out as family businesses.
Mrs. Choudhry said that many of such mills did not possess any
document to give the evidence of the date of their establishment. On
the request of the State Government, the Central Empowered Committee
formed by Supreme Court took a lenient view with regard to the grant
of license. It was also granted that for units located in rural areas, the State Committee could grant license to such units if it was convinced about the genuineness of the case. This step would go a long way in giving major relief to saw mills located in rural areas of Haryana, added the minister.

Sept 21st

Chandigarh, Sept 21 – The Haryana State Pollution Control Board has
invited suggestions, views, comments and objections from the concerned public for the proposed Kundli-Manesar Express Way to be constructed in the districts of Sonepat, Jhajjar, Gurgoan, Mewat and Faridabad within 30 days. While stating this here today, a spokesman of the Board said that environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests was needed for the construction of this Express- Way. The Haryana State Pollution Control Board would also conduct public hearings on October 23 and 24 so as to obtain views, suggestions and objections of the nearby public on the proposed project. He said that the public hearing for the development of Kundli-Manesar Palwal Express-Way at district Sonepat, Jhajjar, and Gurgaon would be conducted near the concerned Deputy Commissioners' offices on October 23 and for the development of Kundli-Manesar Palwal Express-Way at district Mewat and Faridabad nearby Deputy Commissioners' offices on October 24.
He said that the copies of executive summary of the project and EIA
study report was available in the offices of Deputy Commissioners of
district Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonepat, Mewat and Jhajjar,environmental
Engineers of Haryana State Pollution Control Board of the districts of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonepat, Bahadurgarh and Ballabhgarh. The same had also been made available in the office of Zila Parishad of districts Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonepat, Mewat and Jhajjar and Municipal Committee of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonepat, Mewat and Jhajjar which could be persued during office hours on any working day. The suggestions or objections could be filed to the Chairman, Haryana State Pollution Control Board, Panchkula within 30 days. The public hearings could also be attended by any person including the bonafide residents.

Sept 30th

Chandigarh, September 30 - Haryana State Pollution Control
Board has excluded from the purview of the Environment Impact
Assessment notification the building projects of upto 20,000 sq.
meters of built up area, according to a notification issued by Union
Ministry of Environment and Forests.
While stating this today, the Chairman of the Haryana State
Pollution Control Board, Mr. Sameer Mathur said that more relief has
been given to the electroplating industries, which are not required to
obtain environmental clearance under the new notification No. SO 1533
dated September 14., 2006. Similarly, foundry units of upto five
tonnes per hour capacity would also not required to obtain
environmental clearance.
He said that there would be no requirement of public hearing for
building and construction projects and for the industrial projects
located within approved industrial estates or parks.
He said that there were 39 categories of projects divided in eight
major heads, which have been included in the notification dated
September 14, 2006 as per the schedule of the notification and
required environmental clearance either from the Central Government or
at State level from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority
and State Level Authority (SEIAA). He said that SEIAA and State Level
Expert Appraisal Committee were being constituted for this purpose.
He said that the full text of the prior environment clearance
notification No. SO 1533 dated September 14, 2006 has been made
available on the website of the Union Ministry of Environment and
Forests that is www.enfor.nic.in and on the website of the Haryana
State Pollution Control Board that is www.hspcb.gov.in. This
notification has superceded the earlier environment assessment
notification No. SO 60 (E) dated January 27, 1994, which had so for
governed the subject of prior environment clearance.
The new notification has details or orders and directions regarding
legal requirement and procedures for obtaining prior environmental
clearance for projects and activities, both new and expanding or
modernizing as listed in the schedule of notification.

Aug 7, Sept 16 and Sept 17

August 7 - The Haryana Government has sent a proposal of Rs 10 crore to the Union Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Source for setting up of a renewable energy training institute at Maharishi
Dayanand University, Rohtak. This was disclosed by the Deputy Chief Minister, MR. Chander Mohan who holds the portfolio of Renewable
Energy Department also. He said that in this institute the training would be imparted to the youth for the repair, operation and maintenance of renewable sources of energy and solar system.
Mr. Chander Mohan said that efforts were being made to popularize the Solar System in the State. He said that the solar heating system was being installed of 100 litre capacity to meet the requirement of hot water in the delivery huts being set up by the Health Department in the rural areas and the precess of installing solar heater system had been started in 120 delivery huts. A sum of Rs 32 lakh had been earmarked during the current financial year for this purpose, he
added. The Deputy Chief Minister said that the scheme was also being chalked out for installing solar street lights in those villages where the population belonging to scheduled castes were more than 50 per cent and the proposal had been prepared for Ambala, Panchkula and Yamunanagar districts. An amount of Rs 3.82 crore had been earmarked for this purpose. Out of this, Rs 1.42 crore would be provided by the Non-conventional Energy Source Department, Government
of India and the remaining amount would be provided by the Union Social Justice and Empowerment Department. Mr. Chander Mohan maintained that with a view to apprise the people about the applications of renewable sources of energy in their villages, a scheme had been launched besides to motivate the students, eclamation
contest, painting competition and race would be organized on the occasion of Rajiv Gandhi Birth Anniversary on August 20, 2006 in all the district. The Deputy Chief Minister said that a scheme had been
launched by the department for promoting of renewable energy programme in the villages and Gram Panchayats would be awarded under the scheme at block, district and state level. He said that at block level a sum of Rs 10,000 and a certificate of appreciation, at
district level, there would be two prizes of Rs 25,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively, besides a certificate of appreciation. Similarly, at the state level, three awards would be given of Rs two lakh, one lakh and 50,000 respectively and a shield. Mr. Chander Mohan revealed that during the current financial year, a sum of Rs 7.9 crore had been earmarked to implement a number of schemes launched
by Renewable Energy Department. Out of this, Rs 5.95 crore would be spent under state budget plan while a sum of Rs 1.95 crore would be incurred under the Central Sponsored Schemes. He said that department had also envisaged a plan of generating 500 MW of power by
2012 based on various renewable energy sources. The Deputy Chief Minister said that the department had also chalked out a plan to install solar energy system in the 'Hemlets' of Morni block of district Panchkula where it was difficult to install the grid
power system`. He said that in the first phase 45 cluster of villages had been electrified through solar energy system at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore out of this Rs 1.46 crore were made available by the Central Government as subsidy. He said that a scheme had also been forwarded to the Union Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources costing Rs 1.65 crore for approval to electrify 149 'Hemlets' of Morni block.

September 16 - The Haryana State Pollution Control Board in association with the Forest Department has decided to organise 'Paryavaran Chetna Yatra' during this fortnight upto September 30 to create awareness among people about the preservation and protection of environment. While stating this here today, a spokesman of the Board said that Paryavaran Chetna Yatra and Haryana Pustak Parikarma were being organised by the Forest Department, National Book Trust, New Delhi and Union Ministry of Human Resources Development, Department of Secondary and Higher Education in the districts of Ambala, Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Karnal,Sonipat, Rohtak, Jhajjar, Gurgaon and Faridabad upto October 15. Plays would also be organised in the districts of Ambala, Panchkula, Yamunagar, Karnal, Sonipat and Panipat.
He said that street shows based on social awareness on environmental related matters including ban on use of plastic carry bags would also be organised. Initially, ten shows would be conducted in the districts of Panchkula and Ambala to create awareness about the environment related issues. One such show would be held tomorrow evening at Yavnika, Panchkula, he added.

Sept 17- Haryana Government has decided to set up Renewable Energy Clubs in nine engineering colleges in the State so as to create awareness about new and renewable energy sources, their systems and devices among the students. While stating this here today, Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. Chander Mohan said that these clubs would organise seminars, workshops, lecturers, quiz and competitions in slogan and essay writing and poster making on renewable energy for students. The Central Government has provided a grant of Rs 2.25 lakh to set up these clubs. He said that a State level Rajiv Gandhi Renewable Energy Park was being set up in Gurgaon at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore to create awareness among the people about renewable energy devices and technologies through demonstration of working models. A financial assistance of over Rs 72.66 lakh would be provided by the Central Government for the project. He said that there was a plan to set up six more district level energy parks at Faridabad, Kaithal, Bhiwani, Gurgaon, Rohtak and Jind at a cost of Rs 40 lakh during the current year. As many as 13 such energy parks have already been set up. He said that the State Government has also forwarded to the Central Government a project to set up a Renewable Energy Training Institute at Maharishi Dayanand University campus in Rohtak at a cost of Rs 10 crore for its approval. It aimed at creating infrastructure for imparting training to unemployed entrepreneurs in the operation, repair, maintenance and testing facilities in the field of solar thermal, solar photovoltaic and biomass gasifier.