NREGA extended to 2 more districts in J

Srinagar, Apr 13 (UNI) The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), one of the flagship programmes of the Centre, has been extended to two more districts in Jammu and Kashmir, an official spokesman said today.

He said the new districts brought under NREGA were Anantnag in Kashmir and Jammu in the Jammu division.

The programme, launched last year in three districts -- Doda, Kupwara and Poonch -- of the state, was now being implemented in 330 districts across the country.

Under the programme, unskilled rural poor were provided an assured employment of 100 days per year and paid Rs 50 per day.

A massive construction work of basic rural infrastructure has been undertaken under this programme in the three districts of Jammu and Kashmir last year, the spokesman added.

The number of households provided employment up to December last year was 26,030 in Doda, 26,700 in Kupwara and 6,578 in Poonch, and the average number of days for which employment has been provided per household stood at 32 in Doda, three in Kupwara and 25 in Poonch respectively.

Nearly Rs 12 crore were spent on the implementation of the scheme in these districts till the end of December last year, he said.

UNI