Modi’s migrant labour employment scheme creates 17 crore jobs, gives this much money in 6 weeks

The scheme has generated employment opportunities to migrant workers in 116 districts of six states viz Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

The government has so far generated 17 crore man-days worth of employment under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA), which is aimed at providing employment and livelihood opportunities to migrant workers. The scheme has generated employment opportunities to migrant workers in 116 districts of six states viz Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, The Ministry of Rural Development said in a statement on Thursday. “By the sixth week itself, a total of about 17 crore man-days employment has been provided and Rs 13,240 crore has been spent so far in the pursuit of objectives of the Abhiyaan,” it said.

While India imposed a nationwide lockdown on 24th March 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the same compelled lakhs of migrant workers to leave cities and return to their homes back in villages. In Uttar Pradesh alone, about 30 lakh migrant workers returned. In order to promote local entrepreneurship and provide employment to migrant workers in rural areas, the BJP-led government had launched Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan. State-wise campaigns to boost employment in respective regions such as Uttar Pradesh were also rolled out later. The government now looks to generate long term employment in rural areas for those workers who have chosen to not return to cities. “The stage is set for longer term action for a long term initiative for jobs and livelihoods for those who chose to stay back in villages,” the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the government has also undertaken construction of various structures such as rural houses, sanitary complexes, cattle sheds and water conservation structures under the scheme to uplift rural India. So far, 62,532 water conservation structures, 1.74 lakh rural houses, 14,872 cattle sheds, 8,963 form ponds, 2,222 Community Sanitary Complex, 5,909 works have been taken up. Further, 564 Gram Panchayats have been provided with internet connectivity. Earlier, the government had announced Rs 50,000 crore to build rural infrastructure under the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan. 12 different ministries are together working on the government initiative.