In a first in the country, the Haryana government on Tuesday provided jobs to 129 eligible family members of those farmers whose land has been acquired for the Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant, Khedar in Hisar district. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda presented the appointment letters to 129 youngsters on the basis of their educational qualifications for employment in power utilities.

Depending on their educational qualifications, appointment letters for the post of Upper Division Clerk were given to 11 candidates, Lower Division Clerk to 14 candidates, Technician and Foreman-II to two candidates each, Plant Attendant to one and Peon to 71 candidates, As many as 18 candidates have been given appointment letters of T-Mates. Ten candidates below 18 years of age were assured that they will be provided jobs after they turn 18. For the present round of appointments, age and educational qualifications had to be relaxed for some candidates, said the chief minister.

While raising a slogan of “Uchit Muavaza Aur Rozgaar, Kissan Hitaishi Haryana Sarkar (due compensation and employment, farmer-friendly Haryana government)”, Hooda announced that one member from each family, whose land will be acquired for power projects in the state, will be given employment in the government sector.

The chief minister also directed the power companies to set up an institute for the students of Khedar, Barwala and adjoining areas for job-oriented training. He instructed officials to ensure 24-hour power supply within a radius of 10 km around the Khedar power plant area.

While describing the issuance of appointment letters as a historical step, Hooda said that the day is not far when the entire country will follow the Haryana model of land acquisition, which is as such being followed by various state governments like West Bengal, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh.

Taking a dig at the previous governments in Haryana, Hooda mentioned that though Khedar land was acquired in 1998, it was his government, which started the Khedar power project in 2007 and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid its foundation stone. On that day itself, he had announced that jobs will be provided to one member of each affected family, whose two or more acres of land was acquired, he added.

“I know that land holdings were getting smaller day by day and not all persons can be provided government jobs. The government has framed a roadmap so that every person can get a job,” Hooda said.