Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has allowed an allocation of Rs. 5,000 crore for the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) this year, K.P. Munusamy, Municipal Administration and Rural Development Minister, said on Monday.
Making a series of announcements at the conclusion of the debate on the demands for grants of his departments, Mr. Munusamy told the Assembly that the Union government had approved the Labour Budget to generate 37.90 crore man-days at the wage rate of Rs. 132 per person.
During 2011-2012, 33 crore man-days were generated and the total expenditure was Rs. 3,000 crore. The increase in the number of man-days was in recognition of the State's best performance.
As part of the new initiatives, land development activities, water harvesting structures and plantation would be taken up on lands belonging to SC / ST, small and marginal farmers, IAY (Indira Awaas Yojana) beneficiaries, Below Poverty Line families and families covered under land reforms.
Satellite-based maps would be used in the selection of works. All water bodies would be renovated and restored to their original capacity. The Social Audit Unit (SASTA) would be established for conducting social audit in all village panchayats. Social audit would be carried out twice a year.
Earlier, initiating the debate, the Minister informed the House that on a pilot basis, payment of wages was being made through banks in 385 village panchayats (one village panchayat per block). Bank accounts had been opened by 94,12,748 MGNREGS workers, accounting for 82 per cent of the total registered workers.
The validation of individual bank accounts of MGNREGS workers was being undertaken in all the village panchayats to make payment of wages through banks in the remaining 12,139 village panchayats from 2012-13 in phased manner.
The payment of wages by banks through banking correspondents would begin this month in 4,446 village panchayats where banking correspondents were appointed by banks concerned.
In 6,837 village panchayats, where the population was between 1,001 and 2,000, payment of wages through banks would commence after May.
In those village panchayats, where population was below 1,000, the payment of wages would be done by adopting other alternative methods.
