A half-fulfilled promise

In keeping with the Government's promise to provide jobs for the poor, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, has announced the launch of a new Food for Work programme in 150 of the country's most backward districts which will be funded from the Rs 6,000 crore originally allocated for a clutch of other poverty alleviation schemes.

The finance minister also hiked the allocation for programmes targeting Scheduled Castes and Tribes.

The programme has been announced pending the introduction of the National Employment Guarantee Act which aims to guarantee 100 days of employment in a year to one able-bodied person in every poor household.

The FM has however halved the allocation made to the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) for 2004-05. The scheme will now get Rs 4,590 crore, down 52 per cent from the revised estimates of Rs 9,640 crore for last year.

Under the programme, 30 per cent of employment opportunities are reserved for women and specific percentages of the allocations at each level are reserved for SCs/STs.

"Depending on the demand for such work, more funds will be allocated in the current year. I expect to increase the allocations substantially over the next four years," he said in his budget speech.

The initial focus will be on areas identified as being in immediate need of such programmes.

Chidambaram hopes to put in place guidelines to ensure that the money and labour used for these schemes result in durable, lasting assets that benefit the entire community.

The thrust on employment generation is in line with the objective of generating gainful employment in the economy and assuring 100 days' employment to the breadwinner in each family at the minimum wage listed in the National Common Minimum Programme.

In his budget speech, Chidambaram said that investment and growth would create new job opportunities in the long run. However, there was an immediate need to ensure that unemployment did not take a heavy toll on the poor.