VIJAYAWADA: The turnout for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has increased by nearly two times in the State within a span of three weeks. The turnout for MGNREGA works was increased from 14.6 lakh workers on May 1 to 37.08 lakh on May 23.
Stating that more number of workers opted for work under MGNREGA because of the reverse migration in the wake of lockdown, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development officials, however, asserted that the first quarter of the fiscal (April 1 to June 30) is the peak season for MGNREGA works and they used to realise at least 60 per cent of the annual target in the first quarter itself.
“We could not take up MGNREGA works in the first fortnight of April because of the enforcement of nationwide lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus. There was also poor response from workers even after the commencement of works due to coronavirus threat. Despite ensuring social distance and other safety norms at work place to combat the spread of coronavirus, workers hesitated to turn up for MGNREGA works initially. However, there is a gradual increase in the number of workers by the end of April as no other works were available due to lockdown.
There is a spurt in the number of workers attending MGNREGA works with the arrival of migrants from other States. As a result, the turnout for MGNREGA works has crossed 37 lakh mark,” a senior Panchayat Raj and Rural Development official told TNIE. Informing that AP is contributing nearly 20 per cent of the national average, he said of the total 25.43 crore man days work taken up across the country this fiscal, 4.85 crore man days are generated by AP alone. Against the target of 21 crore man days for the current fiscal (2020-21) under MGNREGA, they have completed 4.85 crore man days so far, which amounts to 20 per cent of the target. About 11 to 12 crore man days will be completed by June-end. New job cards have been issued to 42,414 families.