The Ministry of Rural Development has selected Vizianagaram as one among the 17 districts across the nation for the MGNREGA annual award for effective implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act during 2015-16.
The award would be presented at the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Sammelan to the district programme coordinator and District Collector on June 19 in New Delhi.
District Collector Vivek Yadav said this at a press conference on Saturday. He said a selection committee at the Centre had selected the district for the award after field verification.
Achievements
Detailing the achievements, he said the district had generated works for 3,61,668 households in 2015-16 and disbursed ₹483.42 crore as wages with an average of ₹106.
Over 5,000 farm ponds, 240 rain water harvesting structures, and 440 water shed works were executed. In addition, 3,427 minor irrigation tanks were de-silted and restored to their original capacity, he said.
Further, Mr. Yadav said using MGNREGA convergence grants, 154 fish- breeding units and an equal number of vegetable pandals, besides fodder production, sericulture, and development of horticulture in 5,000 acres of land were taken up.
Convergence works
While appreciating people’s representatives, DWMA officials and other functionaries, the Collector said the material component that remained unused for the past few years was now being used for bridging the developmental gaps through convergence works, which include CC roads, NTR Jala Siri, energised bore-wells, plantation, and construction of IHHLs under Swachh Andhra Pradesh. The State had been utilising 16% of the nation’s MGNREGA funds, he added.
