Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday said about 3,600 persons in the age group of 80 years or above are living alone in the state.

Addressing a gathering at a programme in Panchkula on Friday, Khattar said based on the Parivar Pehchan Patra (family ID cards) data, these 3,600 persons in the age group of 80 years or above are living alone.

“The government has decided to take care of these people in old age homes by paying the full expenses. To ensure the well-being of the elderly, the Prahari Scheme has also been announced in the budget of 2023-24,” he said.

Khattar said Haryana is the first state in the country where old-age allowance is being given at Rs 2,750 per month. The scope of Ayushman Yojana has also been increased and under this, now more than 29 lakh families have been included and free treatment facility up to Rs 5 lakh will be provided in government and private hospitals.

“The government has recently decided that families with an annual income of more than Rs 1.80 lakh can also take advantage of the CHIRAYU scheme. For this, they have to deposit Rs 1,500 per month. The meaning of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Prayas is moving forward by working hard,” said the CM.

Khattar said the state government is realizing Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay’s vision of Antyodaya in true sense and the poorest of the poor, whose income is less than Rs One lakh, are being given benefits by planning to make their income up to Rs 1.80 lakh.

A special provision of Rs 2,000 Crore has been made in the budget for the year 2023-24, through which bank loans will be made available for self-employment in Antyodaya fairs.

He said those people who could not return the loans taken from the banks on time and the banks had stopped giving loans again after giving their CIBIL score; would be helped by the government.

Taking a dig, he said the Congress gave the slogan of eradicating poverty but in vain. “In the last eight years, we have focused on uplifting the last mile citizens of society,” he added.

The CM said in the previous government, middlemen were allowed to take land from farmers at cheap rates in the name of land acquisition but the present government has stopped it. “Now the farmer can offer to sell his land to the government on his consent at collector rate or market price,” he added.

He said that the Congress is misleading the youth in the name of unemployment. In the year 2017, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed Haryana’s unemployment rate at two per cent and later in the same month it showed 12 per cent, 24 per cent and 36 per cent.