D. Srinivas

HYDERABAD: The Telugu website and the social audit system to backup the rural employment guarantee programme would be launched here on Monday.

Rural Development Minister, D. Srinivas, told reporters on Saturday that Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh would participate in the programme.

The website would contain information pertaining to each gram panchayat about job cards issued, works sanctioned, estimates about works and wages paid.

The social audit programme referred to interactive meetings in villages on whether rights of wage seekers as guaranteed under the legislation were restored. The villagers were free to question officers about their rights at the meetings, he said.

Mr. Srinivas also said a training programme was proposed to the newly elected sarpanches to tune them to the scheme in 13 districts where it is implemented.

He said the State stood third in giving employment to wage seekers under the programme. Though 42 lakh households were issued job cards, only 6.13 lakh households utilised the opportunity so far.

Apparently, there was no demand to the works due to good seasonal conditions.

He also said the programme had helped a great deal to check migration of labour only for the purpose of wage earning.

Indira Prabha scheme

In nine other districts where the employment guarantee programme was not working, the Minister said the Government was vigorously pursuing the Indira Prabha scheme to develop lands assigned to SCs, STs and BCs. About 86,000 acres of land was already treated for growing food crops, 19,000 acres for horticulture and 6,000 acres for social forestry.

Mr. Srinivas also said the State was ahead of others in development of watersheds. The Central Government sanctioned 20 new projects under the Integrated Wasteland Development Programme this year to treat 1.21 lakh hectares.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail