The Hindu : Front Page : Plan for farm work under NREGP rejected

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Sunday, Sep 07, 2008
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Plan for farm work under NREGP rejected

Special Correspondent

Paloli Mohammed Kutty expresses concern at the Central move.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister for Local Self-Government Paloli Mohammed Kutty, on Saturday, said the Centre had rejected the State government’s proposal to utilise the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) for taking up jobs in the landholdings of small and medium farmers. Had the proposal been approved, the agriculture sector would have got a great relief from the crisis faced by it owing to shortage of labour.

The Minister was presiding over a workshop on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), organised by the Legislature Secretariat and the Local Self-Government Department here.

He expressed apprehension at the adverse impact of the Union government’s move to reduce the daily minimum wage of those engaged under the programme from Rs. 120 to Rs. 80. Fewer men turned up for work than women as many were unwilling to do manual jobs for Rs. 120 a day.

“The decision to cut wages will further complicate the situation and will have a direct bearing on the implementation of the programme in the State,” he said.

Speaker K. Radhakrishnan, who inaugurated the workshop, said that middlemen who played a role in the implementation of various welfare programmes for the poor were cornering the benefits meant for the target groups. He said India accounted for one-third of the poor in the world. This was proof of the fact that such programmes had not delivered the desired results.

He said Kerala had set a model for other States by implementing the employment guarantee programme in a transparent and efficient manner. Implementation of the programme in Palakkad and Wayanad districts without the help of middlemen had come in for praise from the Planning Commission. Even legislators were unaware of the scope of the programme. Meaningful interventions of elected members would yield better results.

The Speaker attributed the poor participation of MLAs in the workshop to the Kerala Sports Council elections and Onam celebrations.

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