BHUBANESWAR: Despite Odisha’s per capita income averaging around Rs 1.8 lakh at present, it continues to remain a meagre Rs 32,000 in districts like Kalahandi, revealed Public Response Against Helplessness and Action for Redressal (PRAHAR), a policy-focused development organisation working on employment, livelihoods and regional equity, in its latest report on Sunday.
The findings of its ‘Ground Connect Initiative’ in the KBK region comprising Kalahandi, Balangir, Koraput, Nuapada, Rayagada, Nabarangpur and adjoining areas, highlighted deep structural gaps in employment and livelihoods across Odisha’s poorest districts.
As per the report, agriculture continues to employ nearly 80 per cent of the local workforce, mostly as marginal and seasonal workers, while non-farm employment options remain extremely limited. It underlined that distress migration has become the default survival strategy, with non-official estimates suggesting up to 60,000 seasonal migrants from Kalahandi alone, and over 28.16 lakh migrant workers across Odisha.
Explaining the situation, president and national convenor of PRAHAR, Abhay Raj Mishra cited that families in western Odisha rely heavily on migration to make their ends meet, even today. “People are leaving because there are no stable, formal jobs at home. Welfare schemes help families survive, but they do not create dignity, security or a future for the youth,” he said.
Considering the situation, Mishra urged that there was an immediate need to rethink the developmental strategy and focus on fast-tracking projects which have high employment elasticity to reverse the trend. “Around 35,000 jobs are waiting to be created, including 25,000 within this year, if existing big ticket projects are operationalised,” he added.