HYDERABAD: The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the guidelines for implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) from February 15 and set a target of 15 lakh houses for construction under Indiramma programme for 2006-07.

A five-Minister group, headed by Minister for Rural Development D. Srinivas, submitted its report on the NREGS to the Cabinet at its meeting here on Tuesday.

Approving the recommendations, the Cabinet resolved to adopt them as guidelines for the State-level scheme -- Andhra Pradesh Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (APREGS).

Novel development

The Cabinet also cleared the proposal to implement the Integrated Novel Development in Rural Areas and Model Municipal Areas (Indiramma) scheme from April 1 at a cost of Rs. 23,000 crores to fully meet all the nine identified needs of villages and towns in three years.

Briefing reporters, Information Minister Mohd Ali Shabbir said the registered persons would be paid Rs. 20 a day for the first month of the 100-day period if employment was not provided within 15 days.

This would be increased to Rs. 40 a day for the rest of the period.

The daily wage would be Rs. 80 for those securing work. The Cabinet resolved not to engage contractors and machinery.

The APREGS is expected to cover one lakh households in each of the selected 13 districts in Phase I and ensure an additional annual income of Rs. 8,000 to each household. Applications for wage employment would be received from February 2 itself.

A third of the beneficiaries would be women in line with the guidelines. Mr. Shabbir said each of the selected districts would be allotted Rs. 90 crores from the Centre and Rs. 10 crores from the State. Asked why only one district -- Vizianagaram -- was selected from Coastal Andhra, he said more districts would be covered under the second phase.

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