DAVANGERE: The Union Government is planning to implement the ambitious National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in 200 districts next year, T.B. Jayachandra, former Horticulture Minister, has said.

Speaking to presspersons here on Thursday, Mr. Jayachandra said by 2010, the scheme would be introduced in all districts in the country to ensure that agricultural labourers and those below the poverty line were provided with employment for at least 100 days.

Mr. Jayachandra said apart from five districts, including Davangere, where the NREGS was being implemented, the scheme would be introduced in more districts after the Union budget was presented.

Mr. Jayachandra took exception to the State Government for not enhancing the wage of labourers and asked who would work for Rs. 69 a day.

Labourers could earn more than Rs. 100 if they work in private coffee or tea plantations, he said and urged the Government to enhance the wages to Rs. 100 a day.

`Amend Act'

The State Government should not hesitate to amend the labour laws (Minimum Wages Act), he said.

The former Minister criticised the State Government for not utilising the entire Rs. 451 crore released by the Centre to implement the NREGS and claimed that the Government had distributed only Rs. 350 crore.

The Centre is ready to release the amount for the second phase, but the State Government which had not utilised the amount completely, had failed to submit the utilisation certificate which was mandatory while claiming funds for the second phase.

He told Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) not to politicise schemes such as this .

He said the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee had formed four teams to visit areas where the scheme was being implemented to note whether works under the scheme were being taken up and agricultural labourers were being given jobs.

The teams would also study which other districts could be brought under the scheme in the second phase.

Nagaraj, former MLA; former presidents of Davangere municipality D. Basavaraj and Dinesh K. Shetty were present.

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