‘7.6 cr mandays of employment generated in UP under GKRA so far’
Uttar Pradesh had generated a whopping over 7.6 crore mandays of employment and had already utilised Rs 7,118 crore under the Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan (GKRA) campaign since its launch earlier this year amid the Covid-19 pandemic, said additional chief secretary (ACS), rural development and panchayati raj departments, UP, Manoj Kumar Singh.
The employment was created under projects such as ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana’, ‘Chief Minister Awas Yojana’, ‘Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana’, ‘Panchayat Ghar’, community toilets, minor irrigation, horticulture and forestry etc.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the scheme on June 20 this year with a mission to address the issues of returnee migrant workers and similarly affected rural population through a multi-pronged strategy of providing immediate employment and livelihood opportunities to them, said Singh.
Uttar Pradesh is among those states that witnessed the largest number of returnee workers. An estimated 3.7 million (37 lakh) migrant workers returned to UP from other states during the lockdown.
“The state is working towards creating an eco-system to enable migrant workers and vulnerable families to sustain and promote livelihoods. To this effect, the state has been engaged in collection and analysis of data of returnee migrants, skill mapping of migrants to link them to the industries as well as creating opportunities at the local level.
To give a perspective, skill mapping of about 30 lakh returned migrant workers was undertaken,” said Singh.
The rural development and panchayati raj departments were in the thick of the activities since the migrants started returning to the state.
Singh said owing to the concerted efforts put in by the state towards livelihood sustenance and poverty alleviation, there was an unprecedented increase in the number of people employed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
“Around 62.5 lakh labourers were employed in a single day on June 26 on the launch of the ‘Self-Reliant Uttar Pradesh Employment Campaign’. So far, wages of Rs 4,500 crore has been disbursed in four months to workers in the state, which is almost equal to the entire wage disbursed in the last financial year,” he said.
“Under the GKRA, the UP government has taken up construction of more than 30,000 community sanitation complexes in 31 districts in the state,” Singh added.
“Initiatives like these will be key to promoting the livelihoods of our migrant population. This pandemic is far from over and as we continue to battle against it, we are determined not to lose sight of the larger picture of ensuring inclusive development,” the ACS, rural development and panchayati raj, said.
Caption: Additional chief secretary, rural development and panchayati raj departments, UP, Manoj Kumar Singh.
Around 62.5 lakh labourers were employed in a single day on June 26 on the launch of the ‘Self-Reliant UP Employment Campaign’
MANOJ KUMAR SINGH, ACS, Rural development and panchayati raj departments