NREGS to cover all Haryana districts during 2008-09

Chandigarh, Mar 7 (UNI) All the districts of Haryana will come under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) scheme from the next financial year. This was stated by Governor A R Kidwai while addressing the State Legislative Assembly on the opening day of the Budget Session here today.

The Governor said that the NREGS, which was started in districts of Mahendergarh and Sirsa, had now been extended to Ambala and Mewat districts. All the remaining districts would be covered under this scheme from coming financial year, 2008-09.

He said the objective of the scheme was to ensure employment at minimum wages to every rural household, whose adult members volunteered to do unskilled manual work, for at least 100 days in a financial year. One third of the jobs are reserved for women.

Development works like water conservation, water harvesting, drought proofing, afforestation, tree plantation, canal irrigation, irrigation facilities on land owned by Scheduled Castes and other rural poor, renovation of traditional water bodies, land development, flood control and protection works and rural connectivity are taken up by the Gram Panchayats and other implementing agencies under this scheme.

By the end of December, 2007, funds amounting to over Rs.30 crore had been spent, thereby generating 23.14 lakh mandays.

During this period, 792 development works had been completed and 1222 were in progress.

UNI MA YA AS1955