Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 17 October 2024
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), a demand-driven scheme aimed at providing wage employment and improving rural livelihoods, continues to make a significant impact in the South Andaman District. As part of its ongoing initiatives, two new projects under the MGNREGA scheme were launched in CD Block Prothrapur, offering much-needed employment to rural households.
On October 8, 2024, a moringa plantation project was inaugurated in the villages of Rangachang and Beodnabad under Gram Panchayat Beodnabad. The project falls under Category-B works of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), which focuses on the creation of durable assets and individual beneficiaries’ livelihoods. In the presence of the Block Development Officer of Prothrapur, the Pradhan of Gram Panchayat Beodnabad, and other Panchayat members, the initiative was officially launched.
A total of 30 beneficiaries have been engaged in the project, which is expected to generate 646 man-days of employment. Beyond providing work under MGNREGA, the moringa plantations offer a long-term economic benefit to individual beneficiaries by enabling them to sell moringa and its by-products in the market, thus improving their financial security.
In another significant step, a road maintenance project was initiated on October 14, 2024, in Calicut village under Gram Panchayat Calicut. This project aims to repair and maintain the katcha road in the area, providing enhanced transportation access for the local population. The Pradhan of Gram Panchayat Calicut inaugurated the project, accompanied by Panchayat members, emphasizing the community’s role in infrastructure development. The road maintenance initiative will generate 1,402 man-days and directly benefit 30 MGNREGA workers while improving local infrastructure for the villagers.
Both projects highlight the MGNREGA’s dual focus on providing rural employment while creating assets that benefit the wider community. These efforts continue to support the livelihood of rural households, helping to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development.
MGNREGA guarantees up to 100 days of wage employment per financial year to rural households, focusing on unskilled manual labor. Through initiatives like the moringa plantations and road maintenance, the scheme remains crucial in addressing the employment needs of rural populations and contributing to the overall development of rural areas across the country.