AP Govt evolves HR policy for NREGP staff

Hyderabad, Apr 19 (UNI) The Andhra Pradesh Government has evolved a Human Resources Policy, the first of its kind in the country, for the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, (NREGP) State Rural Development Minister G Chinna Reddy announced today.

Pay hike, job security and insurance benefits for the over 27,000 staff, including field assistants, outsourced on contract basis were the highlights of the policy, he told a press conference here.

The policy would be implemented after getting clarification from the Election Commission in view of the byelections to four Lok Sabha and 18 Assembly seats in the State.

There should not be any problem in announcing the policy by this month-end as the NREGP was an ongoing programme, he added.

Mr Reddy said the State stood second by generating 20 crore mandays with the spending of Rs 2,020 crore under the programme, the first being Madhya Pradesh with 27 crore mandays and a spending of Rs 2,892 crore. But, as many as 49 lakh households were provided work in Andhra Pradesh as against only 43 lakh households in Madhya Pradesh.

The State had decided to spend Rs 4,000 crore to provide work for 100 days to 22 lakh labourers this fiscal, he said.

Allaying the fears of field assistants that they might be removed, the Minister said ''there will no hire and fire system.'' They would also be provided maternity/paternity leaves like Government employees, he said, adding that he was ready to talk to them to remove misapprehensions.

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