Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj H.K. Patil on Saturday said the State government would bring down the workload allocated for physically challenged persons under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA). It will be brought down from 25 per cent to 50 per cent.
Participating in an interactive programme on the inclusion of persons with disabilities under MNREGA schemes, organised by the Grassroots Research and Advocacy Movement (GRAAM), Mysore, the Minister said he would hold discussions with the Labour Minister to see if such a relaxation could be extended to all physically challenged employees.
R. Basavaraj, who conducted a research study in Kolar district during which his team interacted with 424 physically challenged people, said that less than 1 per cent of the amount under the MNREGA had been provided to physically challenged persons in Kolar district.
Of the people surveyed, 37 per cent were breadwinners. Twenty-three breadwinners were women. Most of them did not own property. He said that 35 per cent of them either did not have a certificate of physically disability or did not know about the facility available. Lauding the MNREGA as the world’s biggest programme providing jobs to poor people at a cost of Rs. 50,000 crore a year, Mr. Patil said that this fiscal, the State government was spending Rs. 3,300 crore under it. Last year, works worth 2,900 crore were taken up.
Director, Employment and Disability Institute, and Associate Dean of Outreach, Cornell University ILR School, Susanne M. Bruyere, and founder and chairman of GRAAM R. Balasubramaniam were present.
