Deputy Commissioner N.S. Channappa Gowda released the logo of a social security scheme meant for workers in the unorganised sector here on Thursday.
The logo of the Worker Facilitation Centres (WFC) set up under an agreement between the German Government and the Government of Karnataka was released on Thursday, but the scheme itself had been operating in Dakshina Kannada since last September.
It was proposed to set up 215 WFCs in Bangalore, Bellary, Dakshina Kannada, Gulbarga, and Mysore districts. When the scheme was launched in Dakshina Kannada, 25 centres each were to be set up in Bantwal and Mangalore taluks each at the gram panchayat level.
One facilitator would be appointed to each centre to survey the households and determine the number of households depending on the unorganised sector for their livelihood and whether they were availing of welfare schemes meant for them.
The expenditure for the scheme would be borne by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur International Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), an institution which functions under the German Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development.
Retired Labour Commissioner and advisor for the GIZ project K.S. Manjunath said that although the project had been conceived three years ago, it could not be launched until last year for lack of clearances and other problems. He said the facilitators would visit every household within their jurisdiction and ensure that those eligible for welfare schemes meant for workers in the unorganised sector would get it. They would help workers to fill out applications and send them to the department concerned.
Mr. Manjunath said that a year after the scheme was launched, its performance and effectiveness would be evaluated through a proper study.
Assistant Labour Commissioner Venkatesh Shindihatti told The Hindu that until the present, 24 WFCs had been set up in Bantwal taluk, and 18 in Mangalore. Some of the people trained for the WFCs had not turned up, causing a delay in making the scheme fully functional. He said that eight more WFCs would be set up in urban areas, mostly within Mangalore.
