Corruption made youths distrust government jobs: Yogi Adityanath

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday attacked the previous state governments alleging that due to their rampant corruption and discrimination in recruitment, youths began to distrust the government jobs.

''The youth stopped trusting the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) … hesitated in case of government jobs,'' he said.

Adityanath made the remark at a programme at Lok Bhavan where he distributed appointment letters to about 431 candidates, recruited by the UPPSC for the state's agriculture department, the UP government said in a statement issued here. Declaring that UP holds enough potential to feed not only the entire country, but also the world, Adityanath said that if the state's agricultural capacity is improved with concerted efforts, it will soon become the “growth engine” driving the country's economy and will lead the food grain production globally.

''Usage of technology, availability of quality, and certified seeds, innovation and progressive farming, will boost the state's agricultural capacity about three times and Uttar Pradesh will not only be able to feed the entire country but even the world,'' he said.

He said that to ensure that the state turns into a $1 trillion economy, the government has identified few sectors with best possibilities for growth, with agriculture remaining to be a priority.

''UP's fertile land, abundant natural resources, and agriculture being the prime source of income for a large population in the state makes it essential to strengthen the agriculture sector for UP to progress,'' he said.

''UP has made efforts with the centre to benefit crop growers. After 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured inclusion of farmers among priorities of the government.

''About 2.54 crore farmers in UP are benefiting from Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi and various other schemes. An additional facility of irrigation was provided to 22 lakh hectares of land in UP through the PM Krishi Sinchayee Yojana,'' Adityanath said. Various pending irrigation projects including the Saryu Canal Project and the Arjun Sahayak have been completed and operationalised in a time-bound manner to benefit the farmers, the CM, according to the statement, said.

He also highlighted the fact that many farmers from UP's Barabanki, Varanasi, Saharanpur, and Bulandshahr have been honoured with Padma awards.

Congratulating the newly recruited candidates, Adityanath said, ''Good experience and knowledge of the candidates will benefit the farmers of the state.'' As a part of the initiatives taken by the Centre, about 27 districts on the banks of Ganga and all seven districts of Bundelkhand have been selected for natural farming, and testing labs are being set up for it.

Adityanath also urged the newly-recruited candidates to communicate with the farmers and ensure that they are benefitted in every possible way , be it adoption of new technology, or making quality seeds available to them.

According to the statement, group topper Kusumlata said that the recruitment process has been absolutely transparent. ''Will publicise and disseminate agricultural schemes to crop growers for them to increase their income and production,'' she said.