One lakh persons from Kadapa district to get jobs every day under NREGS

KADAPA: Approximately one lakh persons from Kadapa district will be employed every day under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). Officials from District Water Management Authority (DWMA) are on the job of finalizing plans towards this.

Rural employment scheme for drought conditions only supports the poor in summer.

It must be noted that those who migrated to other cities for livelihood returned to their hometowns last year because of corona.

DWMA plans to employ more than one lakh people a day in summer. It was decided to provide 1,33,54,000 working days for the year 2020-21. However, as of January 20, 1,34,66,000 working days have been created. The target for the current financial year is Rs 527 crore, of which Rs 316.45 crore is to be spent on wages. However, Rs. 322.15 crore has been spent already apart from Rs. 210.99 crore for material component and an additional Rs. 158.23 crore. Another Rs. 53 crore is also to be spent. With the deadline set for March 31, officials are optimistic that more job cardholders will be able to find employment. Gram panchayats and mandals have been targeted for labour attendance. It was decided to ensure that lakhs of labourers would attend every day from February 1.

Workers earn an average of Rs. 235.57 as wages per day. There are a total of 3,61,168 job cards in the district and 30,489 labour unions. Already 30,000 families have been provided with a full 100 days of work while 22,000 families completed 90 to 99 working and 25,000 families had 70 to 90 working days. While each family is required to provide one hundred days of work, the average is still 53.3 working days. Employment is mainly in the areas of water conservation and orchard cultivation.

DWMA project director Dr. Pandillapalli Yadubhushan Reddy told Deccan Chronicle that they would provide work to all those having a job card. He said everyone who returned because of Covid-19 should be provided work. He said the target has been completed with the orders of Collector Chevuru Harikiran and the cooperation of the staff.

“We are planning to employ 1.5 lakh persons per day in March,” he said.