The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Moderate response to enrolment drive under national rural job scheme

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Wednesday, Mar 19, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Moderate response to enrolment drive under national rural job scheme

Staff Reporter

KANCHEEPURAM: The enrolment drive, initiated by rural local bodies under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has evoked moderate response in the rural areas of Kancheepuram district.

Enquiries reveal that hitherto around 70,000 members from 648 village panchayats have enrolled their names with the respective panchayats. The number is expected to increase by the end of March as the scheme will be launched in the district officially on April 1. Any person can get his name enrolled in the list of beneficiaries. Willingness on the part of the applicant to take up unskilled manual work is alone taken into account. Other factors such as whether the applicant receives monthly financial assistance through any other welfare scheme or employed as casual or temporary labourer in any other field are not even looked into, sources said.

The scheme was launched by the Union government with an aim to enhance the livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household, whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.

This was expected to keep a check on the migration of workforce from rural to urban areas.

14.14 lakh not covered

Meanwhile, official statistics reveal that around 14.14 lakh people out of total population of around 29 lakh reside in urban areas such as municipalities and town panchayats, which are not covered under the job programme.

While around 10,000 youth have been covered under the State government-sponsored monthly financial assistance to unemployed youth scheme, old age pension (under five different categories) is being extended to around 69,000 people.

Further, the district per capita income for Kancheepuram district (as per the State Human Development Report) is pegged at around Rs.20,000, presumably owing to the spurt in industrialisation and business activities in Sriperumbudur, St.Thomas Mount, Kattankolathur, Tiruporur and in some parts of Kundrathur and Kancheepuram blocks.

Moreover, the poverty level has been indicated as less than 30 per cent in the report.

This might be in view of the boom witnessed in real estate business throughout the district during the last few decades, the sources said.

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