Sitharaman unveils details of PM Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday addressed a curtain-raiser press conference to provide details on the PM Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the scheme will be launched on June 20 to boost livelihood opportunities in rural India. The Rs. 50,000 crore scheme will benefit migrant workers in 116 districts across six states.
116 districts account for 67 lakh migrant workers
After facilitating the return of migrant workers to their homes during the coronavirus lockdown, the government observed that the workers largely returned to 116 districts in six states, Sitharaman said. These include 32 districts in Bihar followed by Uttar Pradesh (31), Madhya Pradesh (24), Rajasthan (22), Odisha (4), and Jharkhand (3). The districts account for 67 lakh or two-thirds of all returnee migrant workers.
'Over 25,000 workers each returned to 116 districts'
Sitharaman said, "In each of the 116 districts chosen for Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, at least 25,000 migrant workers have reached from their previous places of work, this has been the basis for choosing the districts."
Scheme will focus on 25 types of works
The Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan will focus on 25 different types of works to provide jobs to migrant workers. These jobs will include community sanitation, national highway works, construction of wells, plantation, horticulture, railway works, etc. Sitharaman said the scheme will run on a mission mode for 125 days with intensified and focused implementation of these 25 works.
'Centre will front-load Rs. 50,000 crore in 25 works'
Sitharaman said during the presser, "We want to front-load money allotted for these 25 works. Workers will get their work. Assets will be created. The objective of rural development will be filled." She added, "The central and state governments have meticulously mapped the skill sets of the migrant workers who have returned in large numbers to the 116 districts in 6 states."
