Jharkhand plans NREGA-like scheme for urban poor

NEW DELHI: Jharkhand is set to become the first state to launch an employment guarantee scheme for urban poor on the lines of the Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act.
The scheme called Mukhyamantri Shramik Yojna will guarantee 100 days of work in a financial year for urban unskilled labourers. The new scheme would have a provision to pay an unemployment allowance if the state fails to provide 100 days of work.

In April this year , Odisha Government too launched an employment scheme for urban poor but it is only for six months from April to September.

ET has seen the first draft of the proposed scheme. It says that if the person doesn’t get work within 15 days of asking, he or she should be liable to unemployment allowance which would be one fourth of the minimum wages in the first month. In case the person doesn’t get work in the second and third months, the allowance would be half of the minimum wages in the second month and equal to the minimum wages in the third month. The wages would be directly transferred to the bank accounts of labourers within 15 days.

The scheme shall be monitored at the state level and a new urban employment guarantee council would be formed, headed by the chief minister. The urban development minister would be the vice president with secretaries of departments concerned as members. The new council will hold meetings every three months to monitor the effective implementation of the scheme.

The state government will create a new post of Shahri Rojgar Sevak, who would be employed on a contract basis, at the block or municipality level. The person will oversee new registration of workers under the scheme. An urban job card would be issued to each labourer under the scheme.

However, some criteria need to be fulfilled to apply for an urban job card. The person should be of 18 years and above. He/she should be staying in urban areas since April 1, 2015, and shouldn’t have the MNREGA card in rural areas. Also, daily wage workers, staying in government shelters, for the last three years would be eligible for the new scheme.

The daily wages have not been fixed but sources told ET that it would be commensurate with the urban wage rate. The state government would also provide skill training to such workers under the urban livelihood mission.

A special software is being prepared to link all the state government departments starting from urban wards and municipalities to nigam areas through a Management Information System to keep a track on available man-days.

“We have just started the process and it will take a few months before we are ready to launch it,” Vinay Kumar Choubey, urban development and housing secretary, Jharkhand told ET. Sources said chief minister Hemant Soren may launch the scheme on the Independence Day this year..