Bengal to generate 19 crore person days, gets fund assurance from centre

The West Bengal government has set an initial target to generate 19 crore person days under the rural job guarantee scheme this year and has got fund assurance from the central government for pending liabilities and funding the ongoing process, an official said on Thursday.

"We have set an initial target to generate 19 crore person-days in this year as per approved labour budget under the MGNREGA scheme. The target for the year is set on the basis of performance till January. Last year, we generated 28.66 crore person days surpassing the target set for the last year," said state Panchayat and Rural Development commissioner Dibyendu Sarkar.

"We will have a fund gap as the work progresses. The centre has assured that fund would not be a constraint. They said the labour budget could be enhanced if the state will be able to work as per the target," he said.

Sarkar said that the state got fund assurance from the central government under the MGNREGA scheme by July this year so that it will be in a comfortable position to meet the liability and to fund the ongoing process.

A 12 member team of central officials led by Rural Development Department Joint Secretary Aprajita Sarangi has been reviewing the progress of the 100-day rural job scheme for last two day in the state, mainly in Bankura, Nadia and West Midnapore districts.

"We have held a meeting with central officials on Thursday. The centre has appreciated state's performance. Some initiatives like giving jobs under the scheme for family member of malnourished children will be considered as model," said Sarkar.

He said that Aadhaar card has not been made mandatory for employment under the scheme.

--IANS

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