DEHRADUN: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which guarantees 100-days of work, seems not faring well in Uttarakhand.
Only 22,000 people across the state were provided with 100-days of employment against the sanctioned job cards of 11.26 lakh in the financial year 2019-20. On average, only 42-days of work was provided to the registered card-holders across the state.
Mohmmad Aslam, state coordinator for MGNAREGA said, "The work is being provided as many people as we can. Wages have also been increased from Rs 182 to Rs 201 recently. Total 13626 new job cards have been issued to returnees from other states out of which 9220 people have been provided work."
The officials added that a total of 7.13 lakh card-holders under the scheme are active.
The data on the government website paints a grim picture in all 13 districts of the state where migration has become a major issue.
People from remote areas including bordering villages with China and Nepal are migrating to other parts of the country in thousands in search of better livelihood.
Madan Kaushik, state cabinet minister and spokesperson for the state government, said, "The scheme is being implemented with due diligence. Work will be provided to everyone who is registered."
In April this year, while interacting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttarakhand Chief Minister suggested the PM to increase the minimum duration of MGNREGA from 100 to 150 days.
Earlier, in February this year, to arrest migration in worst-affected 245 villages in Uttarakhand, the state government drafted a plan to provide a minimum of 100-days of work through the rural employment scheme.