Karnataka generated a record 2.04 crore person-days of employment under the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G, between July 1 and October 13, state minister Eshwar Khandre said on Wednesday. The figure is higher than the 1.71 crore person-days generated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme during the corresponding period last year.
Khandre, the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister, said the new rural employment scheme was implemented in Karnataka from July 1 after replacing MGNREGA. According to his statement, the increase came as the state experienced a rainfall deficit attributed to the El Nino effect, increasing the need for employment among rural poor households, Dalits, disadvantaged unskilled workers and landless labourers.
Raichur district in the Kalyana Karnataka region recorded the highest employment generation during the period, with 24 lakh person-days. Bidar followed with 21 lakh person-days, while Koppal generated 18 lakh person-days, the minister said.
Several districts recorded substantial increases compared with the previous year. Employment generation rose by 340 per cent in Vijayanagara, 257 per cent in Kalaburagi, 207 per cent in Koppal, 175 per cent in Ballari and 173 per cent in Bidar, according to figures cited by Khandre.
The minister said the state had begun e-KYC verification of job cards issued under MGNREGA and was organising job card camps to distribute new cards. A total of 87,164 new job cards have been issued in Karnataka this year, he added. These measures, according to the statement, have helped hundreds of families obtain work locally rather than migrate elsewhere in search of employment.
Works taken up under the scheme include desilting lakes, social forestry, rejuvenation of canals, lakes and ponds, construction of cattle sheds and farm ponds, soil-erosion prevention on hill slopes, compost pits and rural connectivity roads. The scheme has also been expanded to include construction of houses under housing schemes, community halls and rural bus stands, with the stated focus on creating permanent assets and supporting village development.
Under VB-G RAM G, each family is eligible for up to 125 days of employment a year. The wage has been fixed at Rs 382 per day for both men and women, without gender discrimination. A rural household receiving the full entitlement could earn up to Rs 47,750 annually at that rate, Khandre said.
