Maharashtra makes ₹6,728 crore available for employment guarantee works amid drought

The Maharashtra government said on Tuesday, September 29, that it has made available ₹6,728 crore under the Employment Guarantee Scheme to provide employment and livelihood support to people in rural areas amid the drought situation in the state.

The state government claims that the funds will be used to undertake 375 types of individual and public-benefit works, with a focus on generating employment as well as creating permanent assets in villages.

Employment Guarantee Scheme Minister Bharat Gogawale said the initiative is aimed at providing employment to rural citizens within their villages while also accelerating work related to water conservation, agriculture and rural infrastructure.

As per the state government, funds have been made available division-wise through the Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Scheme, VB-G RAM G, or Viksit Bharat Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Rural) Guarantee, and related mechanisms.

The allocation includes ₹1,145 crore for the Amravati division, ₹489 crore for Konkan, ₹1,944 crore for Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, ₹119 crore for Nagpur and ₹801 crore for Pune division.

Maha government said that 60% of the funds will be the Central government’s share, while the remaining 40% will come from the state government.

According to the state government, among the individual-benefit works that can be taken up are irrigation projects, cattle sheds, individual orchard plantations, borewell recharge, bamboo plantations and works under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

The scheme will also cover shed construction for the sericulture industry and compost pits, along with other works that benefit farmers and rural households. Public-benefit works will include repair and maintenance of public ponds, gabion bunds, percolation ponds, earthen bunds and RCC embankments. The works will also include farm roads, storage buildings of Agricultural Produce Market Committees and market platforms, apart from other water conservation, agriculture and rural development projects.

The government said the available works will be utilised to generate maximum employment in drought-affected rural areas. The focus, according to the department, will be on creating employment while simultaneously strengthening water conservation, agriculture-related facilities and rural infrastructure.