Chandigarh, Nov 17 : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, while welcoming President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday, said it was a matter of fortune that the President himself has come to the state to initiate the Adarsh Gram Yojana. This will give new energy to the rural development in Haryana, he said. The Chief Minister was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of Sui, a model village in Bhiwani district, developed under the Swa-Prerit Adarsh Gram Yojana. The first lady of the country, Savita Kovind, Haryana Governor, Bandaru Dattatraya, and Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala were also present during the programme. The Chief Minister said it was a matter of pride that on the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state government had started a scheme to make model villages. In this series, Swa-Prerit Adarsh Gram Yojana was also made, under which the development of villages is also taking place. Taking initiative in Sui village, industrialist Krishna Jindal has got lake, school, auditorium, parks, library and many other development works done in the village. The Chief Minister said similarly 205 people from Haryana who live abroad have expressed their desire to get development work done in their native villages. The state government has also inspired many big companies and industrialists to take up development in villages, cities and any part of the state through corporate social responsibility (CSR). Due to this, a trust has been formed in Haryana. Khattar said Haryana ranks 21st in the country in terms of area and 18th in terms of population. In the last seven years, the state government has done so much development work that even the Prime Minister has praised them. He said the government has made an Act to ensure that representatives in the panchayats are educated. This Act was challenged in the Supreme Court but the court upheld it. Besides, the court asked other states to take such steps in their own right. /IANS