GULBARGA: The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) has come as a boon to the people of the 200 backward districts selected under the scheme on a pilot basis, as it has contributed to the development of infrastructure and the progress of water conservation works.

Although the main intention of the NREGS is to provide more employment opportunities, specifically at least 100 days of work in a year on demand, to unskilled and semi-skilled labourers in villages, the scheme has helped the State governments to take up infrastructure development works, such as provision of rural connectivity, flood-control measures, water-conservation and water-harvesting works, drought-proofing, micro-irrigation works and development of water bodies.

Official sources told The Hindu here that according to details got from the State governments, Rs. 4,290.30 crore had been spent out of Rs. 9,261.90 crore released under the NREGS by the Union and State governments. While the Union Government provides a grant of 90 per cent of the total allocation, the remaining 10 per cent is borne by the respective State governments.

The sources said that so far, 50,854 road works for providing rural connectivity had been completed and 4.71 lakh km of roads laid at a cost of Rs. 570.69 crore. Further, work on 3.95 lakh km, taken up at a cost of Rs. 729.61 crore, was in progress, they said. Flood-control measures for more than 1.46 km, taken up at a cost of Rs. 45.57 crore, had been completed and work was in progress on another 1.33 lakh km taken up at a cost of Rs. 48.53 crore, they added.

The sources said that water-conservation and water-harvesting works, which had been accorded top priority on the list of those to be taken up under the NREGS, had got a boost and 57,315 works had been completed at a cost of Rs. 436.29 crore while 13,800 were in progress.

The NREGS has also helped increase the irrigation network in the 200 districts.

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