Karnataka generated 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 Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Eshwar Khandre said on Wednesday. The figure is higher than the 1.71 crore person-days recorded under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme during the corresponding period last year.
The VB-G RAM G scheme replaced MGNREGA in Karnataka from July 1. Khandre attributed the increase to the larger number of rural poor, Dalits, disadvantaged unskilled workers and landless labourers seeking employment amid a rainfall deficit linked to the El Nino effect.
Raichur district in the Kalyana Karnataka region recorded the highest employment generation in the period, with 24 lakh person-days. Bidar ranked second with 21 lakh person-days, followed by Koppal with 18 lakh person-days, according to the minister’s statement.
The increase was particularly sharp in several districts 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, Khandre said.
The state has also issued 87,164 new job cards this year and is conducting e-KYC verification of existing MGNREGA job cards. Job card camps are being organised to distribute new cards, a measure the minister said had helped hundreds of families find work locally instead of migrating in search of employment.
The employment programme is being used for both wage support and the creation of village-level assets. Works listed by the state include lake desilting, social forestry, canal and pond rejuvenation, cattle sheds, farm ponds, soil-erosion prevention on hill slopes, compost pits and rural connectivity roads.
The scheme has now been expanded to include the construction of houses under housing schemes, community halls and rural bus stands. Khandre said the expansion would focus on permanent assets and village development, linking short-term wage employment with improvements to local infrastructure.
Under VB-G RAM G, each rural household is eligible for up to 125 days of employment a year. The wage is Rs 382 per day for both men and women, without gender discrimination. A household receiving the full entitlement could earn up to Rs 47,750 annually, the minister said.
The latest figures place the programme at the intersection of rural employment, migration and infrastructure delivery. The state’s next steps include continued e-KYC verification, job card camps and the implementation of works covering water assets, connectivity, housing and community facilities.
