Chandigarh: Long after the day’s official engagements have ended, Sant Kabir Kutir, Haryana Chief Minister’s residence, continues to receive visitors.They come with papers in their hands and concerns on their minds. One is worried about his daughter’s future. Another is dealing with financial distress in the family. Someone else has come in the hope of receiving the benefit of a government scheme.
The hour grows late, but the meetings continue
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini meets people one by one, listens to them patiently and, wherever intervention is required, issues directions to officers for prompt action. His easy accessibility, calm manner and willingness to hear people out have increasingly come to define his direct connect with citizens across Haryana.
These late-night interactions also reflect a larger approach to governance, one that seeks to bridge the distance between government policy and the people it is meant to serve.
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, the State Government has placed particular emphasis on ensuring that social security and welfare measures do not remain confined to announcements, but translate into tangible support in the lives of eligible beneficiaries.
That approach can be seen across a range of recent initiatives, from strengthening the financial security of women and creating a support system for senior citizens to expanding opportunities for skill development and providing rehabilitation to those affected by drug abuse.
Wider Financial Support for Women
The Deen Dayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana is set to cover many more women in Haryana, with Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini announcing an increase in the annual income eligibility limit from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.80 lakh.
The enhanced income ceiling is expected to bring a large number of additional women within the ambit of the scheme. At present, nearly 10 lakh women are receiving financial assistance of Rs 2,100 per month.
The government’s focus, however, is not limited to extending financial assistance. Equal emphasis is being placed on ensuring that no eligible woman is left out because of lack of information, documentation-related difficulties or complexities in the application process.
An action plan has been prepared to identify eligible women, verify bank accounts, make necessary changes in the application system and undertake a comprehensive public awareness campaign.
The larger objective is to strengthen women’s financial independence and enable them to play a greater role in economic decisions affecting their lives and families.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has also made it clear that no mother, sister or daughter receiving assistance under the Deen Dayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana will be deprived of benefits under any other scheme for which she is eligible, dispelling apprehensions on this count.
Care for Senior Citizens, at Home
The Chief Minister-led State Government is also moving to strengthen support for senior citizens by focusing on care within the home. As part of the initiative, 1,000 trained care assistants, or caregivers, will be prepared to provide home-based care and primary medical assistance to senior citizens across the state.
The move responds to changing social circumstances in which many elderly people require regular assistance and support while continuing to live in their own homes.
The government has also issued directions for the establishment of Senior Citizens’ Welfare Clubs across Haryana. The objective goes beyond healthcare. The clubs are intended to offer senior citizens greater opportunities for social interaction, along with an environment of dignity, security and belonging.
For Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, the message is clear: senior citizens are not a burden on society, but an invaluable repository of experience, wisdom and values.
Training Caregivers, Creating New Opportunities
To give the elderly-care initiative a strong institutional foundation, Vishwakarma Skill University and O.P. Jindal University has been identified as a training institution. A total of 1,000 caregivers will be trained in two phases of 500 each, with priority being given to youth and women.
The programme therefore addresses two priorities at the same time — ensuring that senior citizens have access to trained caregivers, while creating new avenues for skills and employment for young people and women.
From De-Addiction to Rehabilitation
The state’s approach to drug abuse is also being expanded beyond enforcement and prevention to include treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has announced the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for de-addiction under the public-private partnership model.
A site in Kurukshetra has already been inspected, and work is being taken forward to develop a modern centre equipped with the required facilities. The proposed centre will not only provide treatment to people affected by drug addiction, but will also help them return to normal social life through rehabilitation and reintegration.
The approach marks an important shift in perspective — from viewing a person affected by addiction merely as part of a social problem to recognising that person as someone entitled to treatment, support and an opportunity to rebuild his or her life.
For Chief Minister-led State Government, Viksit Haryana Begins with Empowering Those at the Bottom of the Socio-Economic Ladder
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini firmly believes that, for any government, the true measure of a welfare scheme’s success lies not in its announcement alone, but in whether its benefits reach the right person. It is this last-mile delivery that the Chief Minister has placed particular emphasis on.
Identifying eligible beneficiaries, verifying bank accounts, simplifying application procedures and expanding public awareness are all part of the effort to ensure that deserving people are not excluded from government support.
The larger objective is to steadily reduce the distance between a government scheme and the citizen for whom it has been designed. Seen in this context, the late-night meetings at Sant Kabir Kutir and the welfare initiatives being implemented across Haryana are part of the same approach.
At one end, the Chief Minister is directly hearing the concerns of people. At the other, the government is working to address recurring social and economic challenges through policies and programmes that can offer more lasting solutions.
Financial assistance for women, home-based care for senior citizens, skill training for youth and women, and rehabilitation for those affected by drug abuse may address different needs, but they are connected by a common purpose, i.e. to make welfare more accessible, meaningful and dignified.
Chief Minister’s Mantra: People First, Viksit Haryana for Viksit Bharat 2047
For Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, this people-centric approach is also integral to Haryana’s journey towards becoming a developed and empowered state in line with the national resolve of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
In that vision, development is not measured by roads, buildings and industries alone. It is also reflected in whether a woman becomes financially stronger, whether a senior citizen can live with dignity and receive proper care, and whether a young person affected by drug abuse gets the support and opportunity to recover and return to the mainstream.
The late-night interactions at Sant Kabir Kutir and the welfare measures being taken across Haryana ultimately reflect the same priority: to make the government more accessible and ensure that its policies reach the people whose lives they are intended to improve.
