The Jharkhand Government has achieved big achievement in providing livelihood to rural populace under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA) in Corona pandemic times by creating 890 lakh mandays in the last eight months. The government had a target of creating 900 lakh mandays, which is set to be completed soon.
Also, Jharkhand has requested the Union Government for 12.5 lakh mandays which the state government has made a target to achieve by March this year. Jharkhand by achieving the target of 890 lakh mandays is in seventh position in the State in the entire country. The Jharkhand government by creating 890 lakh mandays has also provided 8.77 lakh job cards indulging around 12 lakh labourers.
It may be noted that under the MGNREGA in the financial year 2020-21, a target of Rs 2,74,184 lakh and 800 mandays was sanctioned.
A senior official at the rural development department said, “The State government with an aim to tide over the unemployment problem created due to large scale migration of labourers from across the Country launched three employment schemes for more than six lakh migrant labourers who are returning to the state in a phased manner. Aimed at reviving the rural economy which has been hit badly by lockdown the Jharkhand government launched Birsa Harit Gram Yojana, Neelambar Pitambar Jal Samridhi Yojana, Veer Shaheed Poto Ho Khel Yojana and the most the mandays were created under these scheme.”
Jharkhand has not only performed better in creating mandays but has also performed much better than many states in providing timely remuneration to MGNREGA workers. In order to gain first place in the matter of timely remuneration, the government launched an employment campaign and tried to connect MGNREGA workers together for the implementation of the schemes at panchayat level. Nearly 82,000 schemes were also completed by creating 140 lakh mandays within 35 days of the employment campaign.
The MGNREGA scheme played an important role as employment and livelihood for the poor families and migrant workers of rural areas in the corona period. Birsa Green Village Scheme, Nilambar-Pitambar Jal Samridhi Yojana, Veer Shaheed Poto Ho Sports Development Scheme and Didi Bari
schemes have contributed significantly. Under the Birsa Green Village Scheme, horticulture work is being done on more than 26 thousand acres of land with more than 30 thousand families engaged with the scheme. Nearly 80 thousand schemes are being completed through the Nilambar-Pitamber scheme, while work on 1,50,210 schemes is in progress.
At the same time, work is going on 1805 schemes under the Veer Shaheed Poto Ho Khel scheme.