With an aim to ensure creation of quality and sustainable assets under the rural job scheme, the Government has decided to train 10,000 young “barefoot” technicians (BFT) in the basic concepts of civil engineering and involve them in planning and supervising the works under the MGNREGA in 2,500 most backward blocks across India.
A BFT is an educated person, identified from the local SC/ST MGNREGA worker households and specially trained in civil engineering concepts, using the customised training modules.
Better training and skills development will not only contribute to creation of durable and good quality works but also more sustainable maintenance of assets. It will also provide employment and will give horizontal and vertical mobility to these young women and men especially to those from vulnerable sections of society,” said Union Minister for Rural Development Birender Singh.
He was speaking after releasing training manuals on Tuesday for MGNREGA and Impact Assessment Study of PMGSY Roads, which was carried out in collaboration with the International labour Organisation (IlO).
At the event, IlO Deputy Director General (Policy) Sandra Polaski hailed rural job scheme MGNREGA and PMGSY. “India's MGNREGA is the only employment guarantee scheme, which was launched with the commitment and right to rural employment through national legislation. As such MGNREGA is a valuable model that can be adapted in other countries with similar challenges,” she said.
She also praised the Government for its recent mobilisation of barefoot technicians for the scheme. Singh and Polaski jointly launched a set of new training manuals for the two flagship schemes.
Similarly, to improve maintenance of the large PMGSY rural roads network (4,50,000 kilometers of PMGSY roads have been constructed across the country since the inception of PMGSY in December 2000), the training manuals for field engineers and contractors have already been used in the training of more than 6,000 engineers and contractors across the country in the last four months, said Aparajita Sarangi, Joint Secretary in the Ministry.
Secretary, Rural Development JK Mohapatra said that wage payment on time is a major issue in MGNREGA and this must be rectified through suitable interventions.