Kadapa: Works pertaining to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) are in full swing in the district and the rural poor are its biggest beneficiaries. More than one lakh workers are benefiting every day from employment guarantee works.
The district administration has prepared plans to utilise more funds under MNREGS. It has prepared an annual report earmarking Rs 771.09 crore on employment for the financial year 2021-22 and has spent Rs 258.33 crore up to June 21. It was fixed a target of 1.88 crore personal working days and completed 81.94 lakh working days as on Monday.
It had set a target of spending Rs 581.19 crore in the last financial year and spent a further Rs 668.83 crore under the labour and material component. During last year's Coronavirus disaster, people from other areas came to their homes and were given job cards and employment.
There are 5.78 lakh job cards in the district but only around four lakh job cards are active. There are 30,130 Shram shakti unions, of which 5,31,069 are registered members. It has set a target of 1.88 crore personal working days under the Employment Guarantee Scheme this year while 1.49 crore working days were provided in the last financial year.
Wages will rise in summer. Although usually fixed at Rs 245 per day, an additional 30 per cent is paid in May and 20 per cent in June in the form of allowances. 18.33 lakh personal working days were created in April this year, 37.90 lakh in May and 26.71 lakh till June 21. A total of 81.94 lakh working days have been provided so far and Rs 258.77 crore has been paid as material components and wages.
District Water Management Authority (DWMA) project director Pandillapalli Yadubhushan Reddy told Deccan Chronicle that almost one crore personal working days would be completed by the end of June. He expressed confidence that the rest of the mission would be completed smoothly.
He said work beyond the target had been done in 2020-21, rewriting a fourteen-year history. He said that the suggestions and advice of district collector Chevuru Harikiran had contributed a lot to this.
