7/29/2019 MGNREGA for the differently-abled - The Hindu
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8/28/13 MGNREGA for the differently-abled - The Hindu
www.thehindu.com/news/national/mgnrega-for-the-differentlyabled/article5052339.ece
News National
MGNREGA for the differently-abled
Girija Shivakumar
While the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(MGNREGA) is known for enhancinglivelihood security of poor
households in rural areas, the scheme also includes holistic
fulfillment as special attentionis focused on the vulnerable
sections including differently-abled persons.
The MGNREGA promises 100-day guaranteed unskilled manual work to
every rural adult with an aim to alleviatepoverty. According to
official estimates, during 2011-12 the total number of
differently-abled persons working inMGNREGA stood at 3,95,200. For
2012-13 the number of differently-abled persons employed under the
scheme was
4,10,393 - up by a mere 15,000 additional opportunities for the
differently-abled.
Employment for disabled persons through MGNREGA remains quite
limited with only four states- Andhra Pradesh,Gujarat, Tripura and
West Bengal providing employment to over 1 per cent of those
employed under the scheme.
In absolute numbers, Andhra Pradesh topped the list of states in
providing jobs to 1, 16,280 disabled persons, closelyfollowed by
West Bengal at 1, 02,480 and Maharashtra at 27,936.
In Gujarat the percentage of disabled persons working in MGNREGA
declined from 1.40 per cent in 2011-12 to 1.30per cent in 2012-13.
On the other hand, the population went up for the same period from
0.42 per cent to 0.44 percent in Tamil Nadu, while Andhra Pradesh
saw an increase from 0.96 per cent to 1.10 per cent.
The MGNREGA Operational Guidelines has dedicated a separate
chapter entitled Strategy for Vulnerable Groupswherein a detailed
procedure has been outlined to facilitate differently-abled persons
under MGREGA.
Since MGREGA is a demand driven program backed by legislation,
there is no earmarking of funds/reservations forany specific
category of workers, said Pradeep Kumar Jain Aditya, Minister of
State in Ministry of RuralDevelopment.
Further, the Minister stated that there has been an emphasis to
create conditions for active participation ofdifferently-abled
persons under the scheme. This includes for States to identify
specific works which can be done by
the differently- abled persons.Differently-abled persons can be
grouped together as a fixed group to accomplish the works proposed
for them.Services of a facilitator/ mate can be utilized to
mobilise differently-abled workers for MGNREGA works, he added.
Keywords: MGNREGA, NREGA provisions for differently-abled
persons,wage rates, 100-day manual work
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