Karnataka - Bangalore   

No takers for rural job scheme in Malnad areas

Nagesh Prabhu

Daily wage of Rs. 74 too low; jobs are available for Rs. 100

BANGALORE: There are no takers for the Union Government's ambitious National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in Chikmagalur, Shimoga and Hassan districts in the Malnad region. The reason: low daily wages.

In April, the Centre brought Bellary, Hassan, Belgaum, Shimoga, Kodagu and Chikmagalur districts under the scheme, in addition to Bidar, Gulbarga, Raichur, Chitradurga and Davangere districts where it was introduced in February 2006.

Unemployed people are not willing to join the scheme in Chikmagalur, Shimoga and Hassan. The same was the case with Kodagu district. Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj C.M. Udasi has expressed concern about the tardy implementation of the scheme in these districts.

Low wage

Under the scheme, the daily wage has been fixed at Rs. 74 a day, which is too low in the Malnad districts and also in some parts of Raichur and Gulbarga districts, where large tracts of land are irrigated, Mr. Udasi said.

Building contractors and landowners pay a daily wage of more than Rs. 100 to construction workers and agricultural labourers in the Malnad districts. The Malnad districts have also been covered by the special rehabilitation package announced by the Centre last year to mitigate distress among farmers.

The Centre announced a Rs. 2,689-crore rehabilitation package for Belgaum, Hassan, Chikmagalur, Kodagu, Shimoga and Chitradurga districts where a large number of farmers have committed suicide over the past few years. It has earmarked Rs. 106 crore for watershed development, Rs. 92.7 crore for animal husbandry and Rs. 1,208 crore for irrigation facilities over a three-year period.

Mr. Udasi said the Department of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development had submitted a proposal to the Centre seeking to bring drought-hit Koppal, Bijapur, Gadag, Haveri, Bellary, Tumkur, Kolar and Chamarajanagar districts under the NREGS. Instead, the Centre chose to bring districts covered by the rehabilitation package under the NREGS.

Good progress

In districts such as Bidar, Gulbarga, Raichur, Davangere and Chitradurga, where the job scheme was introduced last year, it was progressing well, the Minister said. As many as 33,919 individuals had been provided jobs as on April 30 in the five districts. As many as 8.17 lakh applications were registered.

The scheme was most successful in Chitradurga district, where 13,962 individuals had been provided employment as on April 30, Mr. Udasi said.

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