Governor chairs 82nd Meeting of Kurukshetra Development Board

Mahabharata-themed gates, electric buses and new pilgrimage sites for Kurukshetra

Kurukshetra should be developed as a grand spiritual city; 48 Utsav to be organised in 48 Kos villages, Governor

Kurukshetra’s spiritual and cultural heritage must achieve global recognition, says Chief Minister

Chandigarh, June 18 — The 82nd meeting of the Kurukshetra Development Board (KDB) was held under the chairmanship of the Governor and Board Chairman, Sh. Bandaru Dattatraya here today. Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Nayab Singh Saini who is also the Vice Chairman of KDB also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, the Governor said that the government is continuously working to give global recognition to the cultural and spiritual heritage of the holy land of Kurukshetra. He said that to establish a wider identity for Kurukshetra across the country, everyone must work together. Kurukshetra holds immense religious significance and should be envisioned as a grand spiritual city, he emphasized. Renowned scholars and prominent personalities from across the country should be associated with the Board, he said.

Meanwhile, to foster deeper community engagement and participation in promoting Kurukshetra’s heritage, Sh. Bandaru Dattatraya suggested that at least 48 Utsav (festivals) should be celebrated annually in villages within the 48 Kos area, involving local representatives and the participation of the villages housing these pilgrimage sites.

The Chief Minister said that the government’s objective is to transform Kurukshetra into a world-class destination for spiritual and cultural tourism. He stressed that visitors should be able to sense the historic aura of Mahabharata’s land from the moment they arrive in Kurukshetra. Arrangements should reflect both religious and tourism perspectives, said Sh. Nayab Singh Saini.

During the meeting, various aspects of Kurukshetra’s development were discussed in the presence of board members and senior officers. The discussions focused on improving sanitation, the upkeep and renovation of Sarovars, transportation arrangements, and infrastructure upgrades within the Mela area. Ongoing development projects across different locations were also reviewed, with clear directives issued to expedite progress.

City to Showcase Mahabharata Theme

A key highlight of the meeting was the focus on promoting Kurukshetra’s identity as a city of spiritual and historical significance. The Chief Minister directed the officers concerned to identify major intersections and entry gates in the city, which will be designed around a Mahabharata-inspired theme. The Sudarshan Chakra on the road leading from Jyotisar will be redesigned with advanced lighting and an installation of a statue of Lord Shri Krishna. Besides this, the naming of entry gates to Brahma Sarovar was also deliberated upon. Further, departments were directed to enhance greenery in the surroundings of Jyotisar Tirtha. Discussions were also held regarding city-wide mural art and inscriptions of Sanskrit shlokas on structures near the railway bridge.

Electric Buses to Connect Pilgrimage Circuit, Pass System Introduced

In the meeting, it was decided that electric buses will soon be introduced in Kurukshetra, connecting important pilgrimage sites along the 48 Kos Parikrama circuit. Route maps will be displayed inside the buses, and a daily pass system will be implemented. These passes will not only facilitate bus travel but will also serve as entry passes to various attractions across Kurukshetra.

The officers concerned shared that, apart from the 164 pilgrimage sites already mapped within the 48 Kos Kurukshetra area, surveys of 18 additional sites have now been completed. A presentation was shown detailing the architectural design for these sites, which will feature uniform styling, color schemes, entrance gates, landscaped parks, and multipurpose halls to maintain visual and thematic consistency.

Four Information Centers to be Established

To further enhance the experience for pilgrims and tourists, four information centers are to be set up by October 15 at Pipli Bus Stand, Kurukshetra Railway Station, Jyotisar Railway Station, and the Kurukshetra Development Board headquarters. These centers will provide comprehensive information about the city, supported by brochures, posters, and booklets detailing accommodation options, tourist landmarks, and other key highlights. He also directed that plaques be installed at historical landmarks and near statues across the city, explaining their cultural and historical significance.

During the meeting, Gita Manishi Swami Shri Gyananand ji Maharaj said that a collective effort is underway to give Kurukshetra a grand and spiritually resonant identity. Citing Indore’s example, he suggested that similar efforts should be made to improve the city’s cleanliness and help it secure a high national ranking for sanitation. He also recommended engaging Japan as a global partner for the Gita Mahotsav, and proposed that a Global Gita Summit be organized in Haryana, attracting scholars from across the world.

Cabinet Minister Sh. Vipul Goel also attended the meeting. Kurukshetra MP, Sh. Naveen Jindal participated in the meeting via video conference and shared his valuable suggestions. MLA, Sh. Ashok Arora, Chief Secretary, Sh. Anurag Rastogi, Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Dr. Sumita Misra, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sh. Arun Gupta, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Dr. Saket Kumar, Member Secretary, Kurukshetra Development Board, Sh. Vikas Gupta, OSD to Chief Minister, Sh. Bharat Bhushan Bharti, and CEO KDB, Sh. Pankaj Setia also remained present in the meeting.

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Voter ID card with photo will be delivered to homes within 15 days through postal department: CEO Pankaj Agarwal

Chandigarh, June 18 - Haryana Chief Election Officer (CEO) Sh. Pankaj Agarwal said the Election Commission of India has issued a new standard operating procedure to deliver photo identity cards to voters within 15 days. He said this service will be available after making corrections in new registration of voters, any change in the status of existing voters, etc. For this, voter ID cards will be delivered to voters through the postal department.

He said under this new system, there will be correct time tracking at every stage and the voter will be informed at every stage through SMS on his mobile phone. This will improve service delivery and data security will also be maintained. He said this is a big initiative by the Election Commission of India towards providing better services to voters.

It is noteworthy that in the last four months, Chief Election Commissioner of India Sh. Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi have taken many new initiatives for the benefit of voters and other stakeholders.

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RTS Commission imposes penalty on officials for not providing timely service to power consumer

Chandigarh, June 18 – The Haryana Right to Service Commission has taken note of a complaint of a consumer and fixed accountability of three officers for negligence. Giving information about this matter, a spokesperson of the Commission said the Commission found in investigation that the application given by electricity consumer Kaithal resident Sh. Sohan Lal for refund of security amount on March 15, 2022 was clearly marked to the concerned Assistant (CA), but despite this, no action was taken on it.

The Commission has imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Duty Officer-cum-CA Sh. Pritam of Division Gulha Cheeka under Section 17(1)(h) of Haryana Right to Service Act, 2014 and ordered to pay Rs 5,000 as compensation to the consumer. This amount will be deducted from the salary of June, 2025 and paid in July, 2025. An amount of Rs 5,000 will be deposited in the state treasury and an amount of Rs 5,000 will be transferred to the bank account of consumer Sh. Sohan Lal.

Apart from this, the Commission has also recommended disciplinary action against FGRA-cum-SDO (OP) Sh. Ashish Gautam. Despite knowing the matter on January 3, 2025, he only cancelled the bill and closed the case on 31st January, 2025, while no concrete action was taken on the consumer's appeal and refund of security amount. However, accepting the lapse for the first time, the Commission has accepted his oral and written apology by warning him.

The Commission has also found the role of Superintending Engineer Sh. Gaurav Lochab of Division Gulha Cheeka unsatisfactory. Despite passing the final order on 3rd April, 2025, he did not take any concrete initiative to cancel the wrong bill or refund the security amount along with interest. If the security amount and due interest are not paid to the consumer in the next 15 days, disciplinary action will be recommended against him.

The Commission has directed the Superintending Engineer to pay the security amount of Rs 8,000 and the interest due to the consumer Sh. Sohan Lal and send the compliance report to the Commission by July 10, 2025.

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CM’s historic step for a “Yoga Yukt, Nasha Mukt Haryana

Over 20 lakh people to participate for mass yoga practice on 11th International Yoga day

Chandigarh, June 18 – Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Nayab Singh Saini has taken a historic step towards building a “Yoga Yukt, Nasha Mukt Haryana” by embracing Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi’s message of “Yoga for One Earth, One Health” on the occasion of the 11th International Yoga Day. As a result of this initiative, more than 20 lakh people across the state will participate in yoga sessions on June 21.

Sharing information in this regard an official spokesperson said that yoga programmes will be organised in all 22 districts and 121 blocks of the state on June 21. More than 20 lakh citizens will come together to practice yoga. So far, over 12.10 lakh people have registered themselves through the portal to participate. As part of the “Harit Yoga” campaign to promote environmental awareness, more than 70,000 saplings have already been planted. The state-level main event will be held at the Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra, where Chief Minister, Sh. Nayab Singh Saini and other dignitaries will participate in yoga exercises along with thousands of practitioners, in the presence of yoga guru Swami Ramdev.

Notably, in 2014, Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi introduced yoga on the global stage at the United Nations General Assembly. With support from 177 countries, June 21 was declared as International Yoga Day, through which India offered the world a path of peace, health, and harmony. This year’s Yoga Day theme highlights yoga’s role in promoting physical, mental, and environmental well-being. It aligns with the global call for unity and sustainability, the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson further said that to promote yoga at the grassroots level, the Haryana Government has set a target of building 1,000 Vyayamshalas (gymnasiums) in rural areas. So far, 714 have been completed and 877 AYUSH yoga assistants have been appointed. Special yoga programmes will also be held in these Vyayamshalas on June 21, 2025.

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CM’s historic step for a “Yoga Yukt, Nasha Mukt Haryana

Over 20 lakh people to participate for mass yoga practice on 11th International Yoga day

Chandigarh, June 18 – Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Nayab Singh Saini has taken a historic step towards building a “Yoga Yukt, Nasha Mukt Haryana” by embracing Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi’s message of “Yoga for One Earth, One Health” on the occasion of the 11th International Yoga Day. As a result of this initiative, more than 20 lakh people across the state will participate in yoga sessions on June 21.

Sharing information in this regard an official spokesperson said that yoga programmes will be organised in all 22 districts and 121 blocks of the state on June 21. More than 20 lakh citizens will come together to practice yoga. So far, over 12.10 lakh people have registered themselves through the portal to participate. As part of the “Harit Yoga” campaign to promote environmental awareness, more than 70,000 saplings have already been planted. The state-level main event will be held at the Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra, where Chief Minister, Sh. Nayab Singh Saini and other dignitaries will participate in yoga exercises along with thousands of practitioners, in the presence of yoga guru Swami Ramdev.

Notably, in 2014, Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi introduced yoga on the global stage at the United Nations General Assembly. With support from 177 countries, June 21 was declared as International Yoga Day, through which India offered the world a path of peace, health, and harmony. This year’s Yoga Day theme highlights yoga’s role in promoting physical, mental, and environmental well-being. It aligns with the global call for unity and sustainability, the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson further said that to promote yoga at the grassroots level, the Haryana Government has set a target of building 1,000 Vyayamshalas (gymnasiums) in rural areas. So far, 714 have been completed and 877 AYUSH yoga assistants have been appointed. Special yoga programmes will also be held in these Vyayamshalas on June 21, 2025.

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Health Minister holds detailed discussions on implementation of health services and schemes in Haryana

Chandigarh, June 18 — Haryana Health and Family Welfare Minister Arti Singh Rao today held a review meeting at her Chandigarh residence with the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) of Jhajjar, Gurugram, and Sonipat.

The meeting focused on detailed assessment of the implementation of health services and schemes, as well as the availability of resources across the three districts. The Minister discussed the current challenges being faced on the ground and reviewed ongoing efforts to improve healthcare delivery.

Arti Singh Rao emphasized the importance of sensitivity and accountability in service delivery. She directed all officers to ensure that healthcare services are accessible, responsive, and patient-centric, especially for the underprivileged and remote populations.

“The quality of health services reflects our commitment to the well-being of every citizen. We must ensure that each facility functions efficiently and each scheme reaches its intended beneficiary,” the Minister stated.

The Minister assured the officers of full support from the state government in terms of budgetary provisions, manpower requirements, and infrastructure upgrades. She said the state government was fully committed to building a stronger, more inclusive and resilient public health system in Haryana.

DGHS Dr. Manish Bansal, DGHS (P) Dr. Kuldeep Singh and other senior officers were present in the meeting.

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*Haryana's Land Governance Reforms Applauded; Centre May Offer Project-Based Funding Support*

Chandigarh, June 18 - Union Secretary, Department of Land Resources, Sh. Manoj Joshi, praised Haryana's progressive initiatives in land record modernization and indicated that the state could receive project-specific funding to further these efforts. This support is expected to significantly strengthen initiatives such as the Tatima Updation Project, undertaken by HARSAC, which focuses on the detailed sketching and mapping of land parcels which is a crucial step toward achieving transparent and accurate land records.

The Union Secretary was in Chandigarh to review the progress of key programmes, including the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP), NAKSHA, the Inspector General of Registration (IGR) system, and the Capital Incentive Schemes.

While speaking in the meeting, Financial Commissioner Revenue and Disaster Management, Dr. Sumita Misra, highlighted that Haryana is making remarkable strides in transforming land governance. Through ambitious initiatives like the Haryana Large Scale Mapping Project (HaLSMP) and the Modern Revenue Record Rooms (MRRR) project, the state aims to safeguard essential land data from both natural and man-made disruptions. These reforms are expected to bring unprecedented clarity, transparency, and efficiency to rural and urban land management systems.

Dr. Misra informed that under the HaLSMP, high-resolution drone-based imaging is being used to map agricultural lands across every village. To date, the Survey of India (SoI) has successfully completed drone surveys across an expansive 38,406.36 sq. km. Additionally, DRIISHYA was assigned to survey 5,805.69 sq. km in restricted zones, completing 4,936.67 sq. km and handing over the data to SoI for processing. The remaining 789.22 sq. km could not be surveyed due to land being in Red Zone.

Dr. Misra further elaborated on the advanced feature extraction process. In urban areas, this crucial step has been completed for all 88 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), with the full dataset for 79 ULBs already transferred to their respective departments. For rural areas, the SoI has completed feature extraction for 41,024.26 sq. km, with the remaining areas expected to be finished by June 30, 2025.

A critical aspect of the project, Murabba stone observation, which is essential for identifying village boundaries, has been successfully completed in 6,910 villages, excluding certain hilly parts of Panchkula where such stones are not present. Furthermore, boundary-related discrepancies in 291 out of 440 villages have been resolved and submitted to the Survey of India for final processing, paving the way for definitive and accurate land records, Dr. Misra added.

She informed that the state government has invested nearly Rs. 84 crore in HaLSMP using state resources. These funds have been used for transfers to the Survey of India, vehicle hiring, procurement of high-tech equipment like rovers, and establishing robust IT infrastructure. An additional Rs. 180.54 crore has been sought from the Government of India for resurvey operations and procurement of 400 more rovers (Demarcation Machine), pending clearance of court litigations that delayed the Digital India Land Record Modernization Programme (DILRMP) funded resurvey process.

Parallel to HaLSMP, the Government launched the Modern Revenue Record Rooms (MRRR) project on December 25, 2019, with the goal of preserving centuries-old revenue records across all 22 districts. Records such as Jamabandis, Mutations, Parat Sarkar, Field Books, Mussavis, and Revenue Court Orders are being digitized, indexed, and securely stored.

As of now, approximately 39.80 crore pages have been scanned, with 39.57 crore pages uploaded to a central database accessible via the Web HALRIS portal. This monumental effort ensures that historical data is safeguarded against loss and made easily retrievable by the public, Dr Misra stated. Each district now boasts a state-of-the-art record room with modern infrastructure, including climate-controlled storage, advanced scanning equipment, and a public-facing front desk for grievance redressal and document requests. The project has undergone 3 level verification.

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Help desks to be set up across Haryana to assist construction workers in availing welfare schemes: Anil Vij

These help desks will assist with worker registration, access to welfare schemes, awareness efforts and grievance redressal: Anil Vij

Chandigarh, June 18 – Haryana Labour Minister Sh. Anil Vij has announced that help desks will be established at the block level across the state to facilitate access to various welfare schemes for workers involved in building and other construction activities. Sh. Vij, who is also the Chairman of the Haryana Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board, has approved the proposal for these help desks.

He said the help desks, aimed at protecting the interests of construction workers, will act as one-stop centers. These centers will provide assistance with worker registration, help in availing benefits under various schemes, spread awareness among workers and address grievances of those engaged in the construction sector.

Sh. Vij added that the Labour Department will ensure speed and transparency in processing applications under various welfare schemes for construction workers through these help desks. The department also aims to enhance on-ground participation through service delivery points and connect points, which is why these help desks will be established at the block level. The centers will be staffed with Assistant Welfare Officers, necessary support staff and equipped with IT infrastructure.

Sh. Vij also outlined the various benefits provided to registered construction workers in Haryana, including Maternity benefit of Rs. 36,000, Paternity benefit of Rs. 21,000, Educational financial support for workers’ children ranging from Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 20,000 annually (from primary to higher education), Merit-based scholarships between Rs. 21,000 and Rs. 51,000 for children scoring 60% to 90% in Class 10th/12th exams, reimbursement of full academic expenses for children pursuing professional or technical courses as per actual government expenses, hostel facility aid up to Rs.1.2 lakh for children of workers in vocational institutes, coaching assistance for vocational courses from Rs.20,000 to Rs.1 lakh, incentive of Rs. 50,000 for registered workers’ daughters to purchase an electric scooter and laptop grant of Rs. 49,000 under the CM Shram Yogi Pratibhavan Yojana.

Additionally, the other benefits, which are being given to the workers including Rs. 5,000 for bicycle purchase, Rs. 8,000 tool grant, Rs. 4,500 for a sewing machine, Rs. 5,100 under the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Nirman Shramik Sammaan Yojana, under the Kanyadaan Yojana Rs.1,01,00 for the marriage of up to three daughters of registered workers, Rs. 50,000 for the self-marriage of a female worker, full reimbursement of actual second-class train or regular bus fare for pilgrimages or visits to historical sites, reimbursement of travel expenses for visiting one’s ancestral home, Medical assistance including wage compensation based on minimum wage, Financial assistance up to Rs.1 lakh for treatment of Chronic deseases, Disability support ranging from Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 3 lakh, Disability pension of Rs.3,000/month, Rs. 3,000/month for children with disabilities, Old age pension (after age 60) of Rs.3,500/month, Family pension of Rs. 1,750/month, Widow pension of Rs. 3,000/month, Under the Mukymantri Shramik Samajik Suruksha Yojana, Rs. 5,15,000 compensation for accidental death at the workplace, Rs. 1.5 to 3 lakh for disability at the workplace for unregistered workers and Rs. 4 lakh in case of death of an unregistered worker at the workplace.

Interest-free loan up to Rs. 2 lakh for house purchase/construction and Rs. 1,100 incentive under the Mukyamantri Panjikaran Protsahan Yojana are also provided to the workers.