PM to launch rural public work scheme to help migrants on Saturday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (June 20) is slated to launch a “massive” rural public works scheme to empower and provide livelihood opportunities to migrant workers who returned to their home states during the coronavirus lockdown.

The Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan will be launched by the prime minister on June 20 through video in the presence of Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, and Deputy Chief Minister, Sushil Modi, an official statement said on Thursday.

The programme will be launched from village Telihar, Block Beldaur of Khagaria district of Bihar. Chief ministers of five other states and some Union ministers will also participate in the virtual launch.

A total of 116 districts with more than 25,000 “returnee” migrant workers across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and Odisha have been chosen for the campaign which includes 27 aspirational districts, the statement said.

Related News: Engage COVID-hit migrant workers in Jal Jeevan Mission: Centre tells states

These districts are estimated to cover about two-thirds of such migrant workers, it said. Villages across 116 districts in the six states will join this programme through the Common Service Centres and Krishi Vigyan Kendras, maintaining the norms of social distancing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This campaign of 125 days, which will work in mission mode, will involve intensified and focused implementation of 25 different types of works to provide employment to migrant workers on one hand and create infrastructure in the rural regions of the country on the other, with a resource envelope of Rs 50,000 crore.

The scheme will be a coordinated effort by 12 different ministries, including Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Road Transport and Highways, Mines, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Environment, Railways, Petroleum and Natural Gas, New and Renewable Energy, Border Roads, Telecom and Agriculture.