Telangana state created a total of 12 crore work days due to the demand for employment in rural areas, which was approved later by the Centre but this year, a limit of 6.5 crore has been imposed with clear instructions not to cross this limit, officials said.
Hyderabad: Telangana has prepared a Rs.2,708.3 crore working plan for implementing employment guarantee under the MGNREGS with the panchayat raj department preparing a detailed plan for employment generation in rural areas.
Of the total amount, Rs.1,625 crore will be towards wages, while the rest Rs.1,083 crore has been set aside as the material component. According to officials, Telangana has been approved by the Centre to generate 6.5 crore work days this year, down from 8 crore work days last year.
However, last year, the state created a total of 12 crore work days due to the demand for employment in rural areas, which was approved later by the Centre but this year, a limit of 6.5 crore has been imposed with clear instructions not to cross this limit, officials said.
Meanwhile, with the summer truly setting in and temperatures soaring across the state, the government has instructed all district collectors to follow the orders issued earlier this month with respect to ensuring people availing the employment guarantee scheme do not fall victims to heat and sun strokes while at work.
“With reports of a few suspected deaths caused due to sunstroke over the past few days, the collectors have been told to follow the procedures and if anyone has been found to have succumbed to sun strokes, once health officials determine the cause of such death, the families should be listed for receiving the Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia under the recently issued guidelines declaring heatwaves and sun stroke deaths as state specific disasters,” a senior government official said. Even without a heatwave condition, it will be advisable for workers to be given a break from noon to 3 pm, the official added.
Meanwhile, sources said the state government has taken note that while Telangana’s quota for work days under MGNREGS were reduced for this year, no such cut was imposed in Gujarat from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and home minister Amit Shah come from. For Gujarat, the same five crore work days were allotted for 2025-26 just as in 2024-25, sources said.
Also, the number was increased substantially for Bihar where elections are to be held sometime in October or November this year. For Bihar, the work days have been increased from 17 crore last year to 21 crore this year. The sources in the government said it appeared as if the Centre was also using MGRNEGS for political purposes when the scheme was meant to create employment to those who most need it in all states.
In addition, the Centre has allocated only Rs.86,000 crore for MGNREGS this year, the same as last year, despite the daily wage rates going up. This appears to be a deliberate move to water down the scheme, which is critical for the livelihood of tens of thousands of people. It is time for the Union Ministers from Telangana from the BJP party to step up and fight for the poorest of the poor in the state,” the sources said.
MGRNEGS works this year in Telangana
Construction of PMAY, state housing scheme homes
Construction of cattle, poultry sheds
Biogas plans for individual homes
Diversion drains
New open wells
Gravel roads to agricultural fields
Horticultural plantations
Percolation tanks in forest areas
Construction of toilets for girls in schools
Construction of Anganwadi buildings
Borewell recharge structures for individuals
