The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme not only provides 100 days of guaranteed wages to adult population in rural areas, but also has a provision for sanction of grants to farmers growing perennial crops on their own land, said Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Krishna Byre Gowda.
The scheme has provision for sanctioning financial grants to farmers living below the poverty line (BPL) for not only purchasing seedlings and fertilizer, but also for agricultural labour if they are taking up plantation of perennial horticultural crops in their fields. BPL farmers can make use of the grants for animal husbandry activities such as constructing cattle sheds.
By making use of the grants, farmers can avoid taking loans from banks to raise capital for their farm activities. Each farmer is eligible for a maximum of ₹1.5 lakh a year under the provisions of the scheme, he said.
Mr. Gowda said the provisions seek to address the crisis gripping farmers, including the burden of loans they shoulder.
Though the provision was introduced about two years ago, there were very few takers as it had not been popularised, he said.
Wage revision in April
The daily wages paid to rural workers under the MGNREGA in the State are set for revision in April this year.
When pointed out that workers in several parts of the State were reluctant to take up work under the scheme in view of wages, which compare poorly with the daily wages they are offered if they work in private agricultural fields, Mr. Gowda said the complaints were restricted to parts of the State.
Fixed as per an index
A daily allowance of ₹250 is paid to labourers under the MGNREGA scheme. He said the Union government had fixed the wages as per an index by taking the entire State as a unit. The daily wages offered to labourers in private agricultural fields may be different in different parts of the State. “Micro-level indexing to fix the wages will be difficult,” the Minister said.
