Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh-
Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Fisheries Minister Shyam Singh Rana has directed officials to foster mutual coordination among departments to eliminate salinity from the state's affected areas. He directed to initiate a special pilot project in the Charkhi Dadri district, emphasizing the need to work diligently towards achieving this goal at the earliest. Rana was presiding over a meeting of officers of the department here today.
The Minister said that the state government has set a target of reviving about one lakh acres of saline land for the year 2025-26 in the budget. The Agriculture Department and Fisheries Department should work together to achieve this target. He said that a lot of land in the state is Sem affected and saline in which crops are not grown.
He directed the officials to explore the potential of shrimp farming by creating ponds on the waterlogged and saline land. He said that draining the saline water through tube wells would lower the groundwater level, thereby making the area saline-free. Additionally, shrimp farming would provide farmers with a good source of income. Considering the rainy season, he also instructed coordination with the Disaster Management and Irrigation Departments to ensure proper drainage of water through the drainage systems.
The Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister also directed efforts to encourage farmers to adopt natural farming. Instructing officials to prioritize the implementation of budget announcements, he assured that there would be no shortage of funds for development projects.