Facing flak, state sets target of 5 lakh jobs this fiscal year

FULFILLING PROMISES Plans to create employment with government and private employers, and through schemes for selfemployment generation

Under fire from opposition parties for not doing enough to keep its poll promise of ‘ghar ghar rozgar’ (job for every household), Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in Punjab has set a target of providing employment to at least five lakh people in the current financial year.

The government, which has repeatedly counted job creation among its top three priorities, plans to do it by way of wage employment through its departments and private employers, and through self-employment by working on entrepreneurship development or specific schemes, HT has learnt.

The target was set in a meeting of top officers of the employment generation, technical education and industry departments held here last month under the chairmanship of the CM’s chief principal secretary, Suresh Kumar, to review the progress of the job programme.

Unemployment rate among rural youth, that is, the proportion of labour force between 18 and 29 years of age that is jobless, in Punjab is among the highest in the country.

The Congress had, in the run-up to the assembly elections, promised to create jobs at all levels, right down from factoryfloor employment to high-level techies, and create self-employment opportunities too.

It promised a slew of schemes such as ‘Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar’ (taxi service), Harra (Green) Tractor Scheme and Yaari Enterprises.

While the government has claimed to have generated 1.6 lakh jobs in its first year through job fairs and recruitment in state departments, it has been drawing flak from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who have dismissed the claim and dubbed it a “breach of promise”.

However, the fund-starved government is now preparing the roadmap to give a push to job creation by firming up an activity calendar, including placement drives, counselling sessions, and motivation and awareness camps, for the current financial year.

In the meeting, the employment generation department, which has details of 19 lakh jobseekers who submitted their forms to the Congress during election campaign, was asked to contact and tell them to register themselves online on its job portal, a common source for all jobrelated information and queries.

Another decision was to explore the possibility of a tie-up with private websites such as naukri.com and monsterindia.com.

“The department has been asked to look at the possibility and scope of working in association with them. It will also publish a compendium on all selfemployment schemes in Punjabi, giving targets set under each scheme for every district and at the state level,” said an officer who attended the meeting.

The Punjab Skill Development Mission has been directed to create a mechanism for providing coaching to job seekers for competitive examinations held by the central and state governments, and skill training keeping in mind industry requirements.

CONGRESS PROMISED TO CREATE JOBS AT ALL LEVELS, RIGHT FROM FACTORY FLOOR TO HIGHLEVEL TECHIES, AND SELFEMPLOYMENT