BENGALURU: Joggers’ parks in hamlets? That’s the government’s new development idea for the rural populace. Strange as it may sound, the parks will have joggers’ tracks and little ponds — infrastructure associated with typically urban settings. “We will be identifying land in panchayat areas to construct ponds, plant trees, put up stone benches, and lay joggers’ or walkers’ tracks inside the park. This will not just give a scenic look to villages, but can be used by elders and others too,’’ an official told The New Indian Express on condition of anonymity.
The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) department is to take up work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) scheme, in more than 6,000 panchayats in the State. The beneficiaries are many: People working in cities who returned to their villages due to the Covid-19 pandemic, like construction workers, vendors, housekeeping staff, tailors and others. Those who own land have taken up farming.
The other beneficiaries are those working under MG-NREGA. The RDPR department is taking up construction of roads, ponds, kalyanis and anganwadi buildings, and will include parks too. “The water bodies in the parks will also serve to recharge ground water. A number of borewells have been dug in villages, pushing the water table down,” the official said.
RDPR Minister KS Eshwarappa had visited New Delhi recently and met Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, and urged him to upgrade employment from 100 to 150 days per family, for which the government is likely to receive additional funds of Rs 400 crore. Karnataka is among the states paying Rs 275 as daily wages, which is higher compared to other states, and has become a boon for people who returned to their villages after losing their jobs in cities.