BHAWANIPATNA: The state government’s move to provide 300 man-days of work per household and enhanced wages under the MGNREGA scheme has already begun to show promising results in the distress migration-prone Kalahandi district with people who had left for work outside the state beginning to return home.
In a bid to curb labour migration from vulnerable districts, the state government has revised the MGNREGA mandays from 100 to 300 per household and additional top-up wage of Rs 98 per person per day, over and above the existing amount. The measures have come into effect from December 1.
The districts to be covered are Balangir, Kalahandi, Bargarh, Nuapada, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Rayagada. In Kalahandi, the identified blocks include Golamunda, Bhawanipatna, Lanjigarh, Thuamul Rampur and M Rampur.
Golamunda block chairman Bindu Mahananda said the announcement has already begun showing impact, with Gaon Sathis and sarpanchs reaching out to migrant workers. Many workers who had left after Nuakhai and Dussehra are now returning to avail the benefit, he said.
Golamunda block currently has 29,323 job card-holding households with 60,054 workers whose Aadhaar numbers are linked to bank accounts.
Mahananda expressed hope that the initiative will significantly reduce distress migration.
Project director of district rural development agency Dayamaya Padhi said all blocks have been directed to conduct wide publicity on the scheme. He added that over 200 permissible categories of MGNREGA works, including road and canal construction, land development and other need-based activities, will be taken up.