The Haryana government has taken a step towards providing affordable housing to the urban poor and middle-class families with the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban 2.0 (PMAY-U 2.0).

This scheme of the Central government aims to provide financial assistance to provide affordable housing for urban poor and middle class families in the next five years.

In accordance with the vision of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Haryana has taken steps to ensure the smooth implementation of PMAY-U 2.0, an official statement said.

Chief Secretary Vivek Joshi on Wednesday chaired the 17th meeting of the state-level sanctioning and monitoring committee for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) and the first meeting for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban 2.0 (PMAY-U 2.0).

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday said the government would provide government jobs to 200,000 youths on merit in five years.

“Over the past decade our government has provided government jobs to 1.71 lakh youths. Along with offering government jobs, the government has also implemented various schemes to help the youth set up their own businesses,” CM Nayab Singh Saini said.

Speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of the Indira Gandhi National College in Ladwa in Kurukshetra district, the CM announced a grant of Rs 21 lakh for the college.

Congratulating professors, students and the management of the institution on completing 51 years, he said over its 50-year journey the institution has played a crucial role in shaping thousands of students into skilled and responsible citizens.

A crime branch team of the Gurugram Police arrested five dreaded criminals after an encounter from Golf Course Extension Road on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, officials said.

The accused were in the city to commit theft, police said on Friday.

According to the police, they received information regarding four to five youths coming towards Golf Course Extension Road with illegal weapons, riding in a CNG auto-rickshaw to commit a crime.

Based on the information, a police team blocked the Golf Course Extension Road from Village Ghata to Faridabad Road. After some time, an auto rickshaw without a number plate was seen coming towards the police checkpoint. When the police team signalled the CNG auto rickshaw driver to stop the vehicle, the driver tried to escape by increasing the speed of the auto-rickshaw hitting the barricade and police vehicle.

"Five persons got down from the auto-rickshaw and started firing at the police team and ran towards the forest. During this, one bullet hit the bulletproof jacket of the in-charge of Crime Branch Sector-39, and one bullet hit the window of the police car," Inspector Vishwa Gaurav, In-Charge of Crime Branch Sector-39, said.

The Gurugram Police have arrested five people for allegedly planning to commit robbery here in Gurugram, police said.

The accused were identified as Shiv Kumar, of Agra in Uttar Pradesh, Aman of Alwar in Rajasthan, Ishub, Shaukeen alias Dhanni and Vishnu alias Billi all residents of Gurugram.

The police have also recovered 01 pistols, 01 live cartridges, 01 iron rod, 01 torches, and 01 sticks from their possession.

Gurugram Police have arrested two criminals for allegedly opening fake bank accounts in the name of 'Jan Dhan Yojana' and making them available to cyber thugs, police said.

The suspects have been identified as Shaun, a resident of village Kiranki, Gurugram and Azharuddin alias Azru, a resident of Punhana, Nuh. The police have also recovered five bank passbooks, fake rent agreements and electricity bills from them.

The complainant told the police that he had met two persons who told him that they opened bank accounts under 'Jan Dhan Yojana', of which Rs 7,000 is given by the government every month. The accused opened a bank account for the victim.

The Wildlife Department will soon serve notices to over 100 illegal construction owners who built illegal structures in the restricted area of Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in Gurugram.

The department has written a letter to Tehsildar seeking information about all the people who are doing illegal construction.

After getting the information, notices will be issued to everyone to remove the illegal construction within 15 days. After this, a demolition drive will be conducted.

Notable, any kind of construction work is banned within a 5 km radius of Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary located on Jhajjar-Farrukhnagar Road.

Senior citizens from underprivileged families will now be taken on a pilgrimage to the Mahakumbh Tirtha in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh at the expense of the Haryana government, it was announced on Thursday.

Under the Mukhyamantri Tirtha Darshan Yojana, the government will facilitate the travel of citizens from all districts, an official statement said. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini made this announcement while presiding over a meeting of Administrative Secretaries here, where he reviewed the achievements of the government in the first 100 days of governance.

Under the Mukhyamantri Tirtha Darshan Yojana, eligible elderly citizens aged 60 and above are already being sent to Ayodhya for the darshan of Ram Lalla. The scheme also includes visits to Mata Vaishno Devi and Shirdi Sai Tirtha. Now, the scope of the scheme has been expanded to include the Mahakumbh Tirtha in Prayagraj, in addition to the existing destinations of Ayodhya, Vaishno Devi, and Shirdi.

A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a 22-year-old youth at Rithoj village in Gurugram district, police said on Wednesday.

The body of the victim, identified as Harsh Kumar, was recovered in a pool of blood on Monday, Gurugram Police said.

The accused has been identified as Vishal alias Bholu (20) of the same village.

A cybercrime team of the Gurugram Police in Haryana have arrested two employees of a leading telecom company who had allegedly provided virtual numbers to Indonesian and Chinese fraudsters to cheat people through WhatsApp/Telegram in the name of part-time job/investment.

Priyanshu Diwan, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Cyber Crime Unit, said the police team of Cyber East, Gurugram and the joint team of Indian Cyber Coordination Centre (I4C), Union Ministry of Home Affairs took action based on technical analysis and nabbed the suspects on Thursday.

The accused have been identified as Neeraj Walia, a resident of District Baghpat (Uttar Pradesh), and Hemant Sharma.

The accused were arrested under sections 318(4), 319, 61(2) BNS at Police Station Cyber Crime East, Gurugram.

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday met and extended best wishes to 75 participants, who will represent Haryana at the National Youth Festival in New Delhi from January 10 to 12.

The Chief Minister congratulated the youth and said the state’s representation in the youth festival is a moment of pride and honour. He encouraged the participants to achieve their goals with hard work and dedication, bringing laurels to the state.

The Chief Minister said Haryana secured the second position last year at the National Youth Festival held in Nashik in Maharashtra. “I hope that this time Haryana is sure to secure the top position in the National Youth Festival.” “Known for their ‘dhaakad’ spirit, the state youth are a force to be reckoned with.”

He urged the participants to set clear goals and relentlessly work towards achieving them. Saini said the government has prioritised the welfare of the youth by providing government jobs without any favouritism.

“Till date, 1.71 lakh youth have secured jobs based on merit, and the government is committed to make recruitments on an additional two lakh new posts.” He said the government is dedicated to promoting youth through education, skill training, and self-employment opportunities, ensuring that the youth of Haryana become job givers rather than job seekers.