BBHUBANESWAR: To help the urban poor hit by job loss due to the coronavirus-enforced lockdown, chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday announced a Rs 100 crore Urban Wage Employment Initiative (UWEI) that aims to provide immediate wages to them by implementing labour intensive projects.
The UWEI assumes significance as the state housing and urban development department has estimated that around one-third of the people living in urban areas of the state (approximately two million) could face severe consequences with reduced working hours, decrease in wages and abrupt layoffs. “The UWEI will benefit around 4.5 lakh urban poor working in the informal sectors in 114 urban local bodies (ULBs) in the state,” said an official statement issued by the chief minister’s office.
The programme will commence within a week and will continue till the end of September. Payment will be transferred directly to the beneficiary’s bank account every week. The minimum wage for an unskilled labourer under the programme will be around Rs 286 per day, said a government source.
Various labour-intensive works like pre-monsoon de-silting and maintenance of drains ahead of monsoon, construction of rainwater harvesting structures, development of new water bodies, public parks, playgrounds, plantations, clearance of construction waste, construction of public urinals at high footfall zones and construction of community centres will be taken up under the employment generation programme. Activities like wall painting and mural painting will also be undertaken as part of the initiative.
“Though we have the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) programme for the rural poor, there is no employment generation initiative for the urban poor in our country. To provide immediate employment opportunity to the urban poor, our CM has announced a programme which is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country. Women SHGs will be involved in successful implementation of the programme,” said Pratap Jena, the state housing and urban development minister.
The minister said the UWEI is a fully state-sponsored scheme with money to be utilised from UNNATI and Jaga schemes.
The state housing and urban development department has issued operational guidelines according to which the civic bodies will select projects to be taken up under the programme. “The ULBs will ensure strict adherence of social distancing and all guidelines issued by the state government for Covid-19 management while implementation various works under the initiative,” said a senior government officer.
The UWEI assumes significance as the state housing and urban development department has estimated that around one-third of the people living in urban areas of the state (approximately two million) could face severe consequences with reduced working hours, decrease in wages and abrupt layoffs. “The UWEI will benefit around 4.5 lakh urban poor working in the informal sectors in 114 urban local bodies (ULBs) in the state,” said an official statement issued by the chief minister’s office.
The programme will commence within a week and will continue till the end of September. Payment will be transferred directly to the beneficiary’s bank account every week. The minimum wage for an unskilled labourer under the programme will be around Rs 286 per day, said a government source.
Various labour-intensive works like pre-monsoon de-silting and maintenance of drains ahead of monsoon, construction of rainwater harvesting structures, development of new water bodies, public parks, playgrounds, plantations, clearance of construction waste, construction of public urinals at high footfall zones and construction of community centres will be taken up under the employment generation programme. Activities like wall painting and mural painting will also be undertaken as part of the initiative.
“Though we have the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) programme for the rural poor, there is no employment generation initiative for the urban poor in our country. To provide immediate employment opportunity to the urban poor, our CM has announced a programme which is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country. Women SHGs will be involved in successful implementation of the programme,” said Pratap Jena, the state housing and urban development minister.
The minister said the UWEI is a fully state-sponsored scheme with money to be utilised from UNNATI and Jaga schemes.
The state housing and urban development department has issued operational guidelines according to which the civic bodies will select projects to be taken up under the programme. “The ULBs will ensure strict adherence of social distancing and all guidelines issued by the state government for Covid-19 management while implementation various works under the initiative,” said a senior government officer.
Coronavirus outbreak
Trending Topics
LATEST VIDEOS
More from TOI
Navbharat Times
Featured Today in Travel
Quick Links
Kerala Coronavirus Helpline NumberHaryana Coronavirus Helpline NumberUP Coronavirus Helpline NumberBareilly NewsBhopal NewsCoronavirus in DelhiCoronavirus in HyderabadCoronavirus in IndiaCoronavirus symptomsCoronavirusRajasthan Coronavirus Helpline NumberAditya ThackerayShiv SenaFire in MumbaiAP Coronavirus Helpline NumberArvind KejriwalJammu Kashmir Coronavirus Helpline NumberSrinagar encounter
Get the app