‘Reverse migration has increased demand for work under MNREGA’

Works have started in all villages under over 5,900 gram panchayats in the State: KSE

The COVID-19-induced reverse migration has resulted in the increased demand for work under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) across the rural areas of the State, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K.S. Eshwarappa has said.

“The migrant labourers who have returned to their native places in the rural areas are increasingly seeking jobs under the MNREGA and we are giving job cards and jobs to all. Except for people’s representatives, government employees and tax-payers, everybody can seek job under the scheme. The works have started in all the villages under over 5,900 gram panchayats in the State,” he told the media representatives after inspecting an MNREGA worksite at Honna Kiranagi village in Kalaburagi district on Friday.

The Minister also made it clear that all the pending wages under it were cleared after the Union government released ₹1,861 crore.

“After clearing the wage dues, we have over ₹1,000 crore at hand and job creation for the needy rural masses is underway. Under the scheme, we are focussing on the works that could help to raise the groundwater table. The wages have been increased from ₹249 a day to ₹275 a day. The Union government has allocated ₹60,000 crore to the scheme in the budget and it added another ₹ 40,000 crore to it in the recently announced ₹20 lakh crore special package to revive the economy, enabling us to increase the wage days from 100 days to 150 days a year,” he said.

When asked, the Minister accepted the presence of dissidence within his party by stating that the party known for discipline would resolve internal issues.

Lok Sabha member Umesh Jadhav, legislators Basavaraj Mattimud, M.Y. Patil, and B.G. Patil, Zilla Panchayat president Suvarna Malaji, vice-president Shobha Sirasagi and former Minister Malikayya Guttedar were present.

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