MGNREGA Project Timely to Help Rural Workers, Says Bedi

Puducherry, Apr 25 (PTI): The lockdown necessitated by the outbreak of COVID-19 has hit the rural poor workers here, following loss of jobs and earnings.

But the MGNREGA project of the Central government has come to their rescue to earn and run the family.

This rural employment programme is known in common parlance as 'nooru naal velai thittam.'

Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi in a whatsapp message on Saturday that the Centre had hiked the daily wage for the workers from Rs 229 to Rs 259. "We thank the Centre for the gesture," she said listing out the various schemes sanctioned for Puducherry with copious funds during the current lockdown.

Chief Minister V Narayanasamy had said at a press briefing on Friday that the implementation of the rural employment guarantee scheme was a boon to the labourers.

"Presently, 10,000 workers are benefited by the rural programme meant to improve the infrastructures in villages. In course of time the number of beneficiaries would increase to touch around eight lakh labourers in the Union Territory," he had said.

Also, the rural all-women self-help groups are carrying out projects particularly horticulture schemes bringing confirmed earnings to the members, he had said.

Puducherry government also announced that loans would be available through banks to self-help groups and a part of the interest is being borne by the government, he had said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)