Bidar: The National Rural Employment Guarantee Assurance Scheme will be implemented in six more districts in the State from now on.

The Centre has added Bellary, Hassan, Belgaum, Shimoga, Kodagu and Chikmagalur to the list of districts where the scheme is being implemented. Only Bidar, Gulbarga, Raichur, Chitradurga and Davangere districts were covered under the scheme so far.

The scheme had been extended to six districts in Andhra Pradesh, five in Orissa, four in Tamil Nadu and two in Kerala. "These States had requested the Centre to extend the scheme to those districts. The Centre said that it considered issues like backwardness and prevalence of farmers' suicides," the Government sources said.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the Centre planned to extend the scheme to 130 districts this financial year. He had set aside Rs. 12,000 crore for the purpose.

At the national level in 2006-07, the scheme had generated 65.35 crore mandays providing employment to 1.67 crore families spending Rs. 6,016 crore. In Karnataka, 4.78 lakh families had benefited by the scheme. The Government had spent Rs. 183 crore for this purpose.

The United Progressive Alliance Government's dream project was aimed at creating livelihood opportunities for unskilled farm workers in their own villages. It tried to check migration and make rural economy sustainable. It made the State duty bound by law to provide compulsory jobs and wages to willing adults. The Government had to pay 60 per cent of the wages as unemployment compensation if it failed to provide jobs to workers as per the Act.

Shortage

This had a significant change in the rural economy in backward districts like Bidar. Large farmers had been complaining that farm workers were "not easily available" in villages now. Some farmers like Revanasiddappa Jalade had demanded that the Government withdraw the scheme because it was "anti-farmer". Farm activity was affected as the Act had snatched away workers from small and medium farmers.

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