Rural beneficiaries to benefit from move
Adilabad: The State government has linked the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) with the Indiramma housing programme, allowing beneficiaries to earn wages for construction work on their own sanctioned houses if they possess valid job cards.
Officials explained that the integration aims to ease the financial burden on poor beneficiaries who would otherwise struggle to hire and pay labourers for constructing their Indiramma houses. Many Indiramma beneficiaries are registered under MGNREGS as wage seekers and already hold job cards.
Under this arrangement, job card holders can contribute their labour toward the construction of their Indiramma houses. The government is providing 90 out of 100 days of employment under MGNREGS, amounting to Rs 27,000, at a wage rate of Rs 307 per day. Beneficiaries availing this labour component must also construct a toilet as part of their house.
While MGNREGS applies to rural job seekers, Indiramma houses are sanctioned to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in both rural and urban areas. Consequently, beneficiaries in urban areas are not eligible for the MGNREGS wage benefit for Indiramma housing.
Senior Congress leader from Indravelli, Yakoob Baig, said linking MGNREGS with the Indiramma housing scheme would greatly help rural beneficiaries, enabling them to earn wages while building their homes. He also urged the government to extend the provision to urban job card holders who are beneficiaries of the Indiramma housing programme.
