Chhattisgarh is among top six States in providing maximum number of jobs to rural families under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), officials claimed here on Monday.
The State has so far provided 94.40 per cent jobs, which is equivalent to Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh and higher than even Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka and Odisha, they stated.
As per information available on Central Government website www.nrega.nic.in, under the scheme, 3,46,368 families have completed 100 days of jobs in Chhattisgarh, they stated.
Chhattisgarh is also far ahead of States such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Karnataka as far as completion of 100 days job by families is concerned. The national average of families completing 100 days jobs is 10, whereas the average of Chhattisgarh is 14 per cent, officials claimed.
Under MNREGA, in the muster roll system, demands have been sought from the interested rural labourers for unskilled work and the names of those who are actually available for the work is entered in the muster roll. As per the national figures, the average work days per family is 46 at the national level, whereas the State’s average work days is 52, which is more than other States such as Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
In order to provide jobs to families, the Central Government had sanctioned Rs 1,446.02 crore to Chhattisgarh for the 2013-14 season and the State Government received a total of Rs 2,199.60 crore from other heads, including grant amount. Funds amounting to Rs 2.072.61 crore against the receipt were spent. Similarly, the State received Rs 844.35 crore from the Central Government during the financial year 2014.15 upto June.
Against demand from 19.92 lakh families, jobs were provided to 14.98 lakh families and Rs 664.64 crore spent on it. In 2013-14, against demand from 27 lakh families, jobs were given to 25.12 lakh families.
Under MNREGA, for livelihood development of rural families, development of non-arable land, tube well construction, infrastructure development for poultry farm, goat keeping, pig keeping, dairies, cattle farming had been sanctioned. Besides, works like additional Aanganwadi centres, sports ground construction, personal domestic toilets, school/Anganwadi toilets have also been done.