BHUBANESWAR: Under fire from Opposition BJP for large-scale migration of labourers from the State every year, the State Government on Wednesday announced a special package of Rs 134 crore for Balangir and Nuapada districts.
The package is part of the special action plan (SAP) prepared for intense action in 30 gram panchayats of the two western Odisha districts to curb migration and facilitate creation of opportunities of livelihood for migrant workers in the State. Announcing the package after a review meeting at Balangir, Minister of State for Labour Sushant Singh said the special action plan will be piloted in two districts and the same will be scaled up and replicated in all other migration-prone districts in a phased manner.
The Minister said a blueprint has been prepared to stop distressed migration, human trafficking and rehabilitation of bonded labourers.Earlier in April, the State Government had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tata Trusts to check migration from Western Odisha districts.
The action plan will be implemented through a convergence model with departments of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Panchayati Raj, Water Resources, Skill Development and Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare, official sources said here. The National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), Hyderabad was requested to conduct a short-term study in Balangir, Bargarh, Kalahandi and Nuapada districts for suggesting alternative livelihood opportunities for migrant workers.
The NIRD-PR report had suggested short, medium and long-term measures which can be implemented within the existing development initiatives. The focus is to identify already existing potential development and welfare programmes to match the needs of migrant families. The suggestions of NIRD-PR have been incorporated in the action plan. The proposed strategies are expected to transform the quality of life and provide better employment generation, access to entitlements and safety-net during distress, the sources said.
It is expected that more than 20 lakh construction and migrant workers will be directly accessed through the database created under the action plan. Besides, help desks will be set up in States such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu to resolve various problems faced by the labourers from Odisha.