India News | Haryana CM Distributes HAPPY Cards to Beneficiaries for Availing Free Travel

Chandigarh, Jun 7 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday distributed cards to more beneficiaries of HAPPY scheme under which families with an annual income of less than Rs 1 lakh are provided with 1,000 km of free travel annually on state transport buses.

The cards under the scheme Haryana Antyodaya Parivar Parivahan Yojana (HAPPY) were distributed across all districts of Haryana, said an official statement here.

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It said Saini, who was the chief guest at a state-level event held at Karnal, launched the statewide distribution of HAPPY cards.

"Haryana ministers and other dignitaries from the state joined this programme through video conferencing and distributed the cards to the beneficiaries in events organised in various districts," it said.

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The main objective of the scheme is to provide the benefit of free travel up to 1,000 km per year on the Haryana state transport buses to the poor families, it said.

Speaking on the occasion, Saini said the government's vision is to empower the poor.

According to the statement, during a conference in Karnal on November 2, 2023, Saini's predecessor Manohar Lal Khattar had announced the HAPPY scheme, and it was implemented during the budget session of the assembly on February 23, 2024.

The scheme will benefit approximately 85 lakh beneficiaries in the state, and 59,708 people have already received the cards. These individuals have availed free travel of 37.88 lakh km, the statement said.

On the occasion, Saini interacted with the beneficiaries from several districts and handed over HAPPY cards to 20 beneficiaries in Karnal.

All the beneficiaries receive smart cards linked to the e-ticketing system, allowing them to travel for free.

The state government will allocate a budget of approximately Rs 600 crore for this scheme.

Haryana Transport Minister Aseem Goel, while addressing the event in Karnal, praised the HAPPY scheme as unique in the country and lauded the transport department officers for their implementation efforts.

Tourism Principal Secretary Navdeep Virk said currently there are over 4,200 buses in the transport fleet, which will be increased to 5,300 in the next two years.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)