Latest news with #PanchayatiRajandDrinkingWaterdepartment
New Indian Express
27-04-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Odisha to prioritise MGNREGA jobs for vulnerable groups with tailored work plans
BHUBANESWAR: In a move to enhance social inclusion and livelihood security, the Odisha government has decided to prioritise wage employment of vulnerable groups under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The groups to be brought under MGNREGA are PwDs, primitive and nomadic tribal groups, denotified tribes, women in special circumstances, senior citizens above 65 years of age, HIV positive people and internally displaced persons. A minimum of 100 days of work will be provided to them with efforts to ensure that they are not excluded due to physical limitations. The Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water department has asked all collectors, block development officers and gram panchayats to ensure that eligible individuals from these groups are identified, enrolled, and engaged in suitable work under the scheme. Panchayati Raj secretary Girish SN said although vulnerable groups from different districts have been already enrolled in the scheme, the idea is to include the left out and provide them job guarantee in a focused way. 'They will be involved in works that they can do without much hesitation to reduce deprivation. A list of specific jobs tailored for them has been shared with districts,' he told TNIE. The districts have been directed to formulate specific plans for these special categories. They will engage volunteers to properly identify the persons, who are capable of working under the scheme, and ascertain the needs and requirements of these vulnerable people through gram sabha. A guideline has been shared with the districts for identifying the vulnerable persons and making action plans to provide them wage employment. New job cards will be issued to adult persons with disability, aged above 18. One job card will be issued if both the spouses are PwDs in a wedlock. Sources said each village will have a 'Divyang Shakti Group' of PwDs and each group would comprise no less than two and not more than 20 members. Exclusive senior citizen groups will be formed with those who are not being taken care of by their families and look up to MGNREGA support. Similarly, focus will be given to people who have been internally displaced due to communal or caste violence or Left Wing extremism. As per the guideline, the PwDs can be engaged in works like drinking water arrangement, plantation, earth backfilling, sprinkling water on newly built wall, filling sand or pebbles, land leveling, farm bunding and shifting concrete and other building materials. Women with disabilities can be appointed for providing drinking water for the workers at the workplace.
Hans India
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Drinking water in every village by next year: CM
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday said his government is committed to provide drinking water to every village of the State by 2026. While addressing the State-level celebration of National Panchayati Raj Day in Puri, Majhi said many people in rural areas are still deprived of basic facilities like drinking water, electricity supply, pucca house and road to their village. 'After taking oath on June 12, 2024, our government has launched 'Viksit Gaon, Viksit Odisha' (developed village for developed Odisha) programme for overall development of the villages,' he said. The Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water department has allocated Rs 10,000 crore for the special programme to build required infrastructures in the villages, he said. The government has set a target to provide drinking water and roads to every village by 2026, he said, adding that the government is also committed to provide pucca houses to all. Majhi said, 'Earlier the housing scheme beneficiaries were selected through party affiliation. But, now our government has completely stopped the practice and conducted a fresh survey to identify all eligible people for the rural housing schemes.' The Chief Minister said more than 23 lakh houses have been constructed in the State under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin), while another 4 lakh houses are under construction. An-other 26 lakh people have been listed for providing houses under the Central scheme, he said. Besides, the State government has decided to provide 5 lakh houses to poor and needy people like destitute, PwDs, natural calamity victims, etc, under Antyodaya Gruha Jojana (AGJ), Majhi said. This financial year, a budget of Rs 2,600 crore has been allocated for the AGJ, while a total of Rs 7,550 crore will be spent in the next three years, he added. Not a single person will be de-prived of a pucca house after the construction of the houses under the schemes, he said. Similarly, Majhi said many eligible poor persons were deprived of rations under the govern-ment's food security schemes as they were not included in the public distribution system. 'Af-ter our government came to power, we have opened the portal for receiving applications from such poor people. We have selected 6 lakh eligible people and started distribution of ration cards to them from today,' he stated.
