7,550 individual works sanctioned under MGNREGS in Chikkamagaluru

Only individual works are being taken up under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Chikkamagaluru district. The lockdown has put a break on the community development works.

To maintain social distancing in order to avoid the spread of COVID-19, all community development works initiated under MGNREGS have come to a standstill. The individual works on farm pond, well, construction of shed and cowshed are under progress.

The Centre has also announced a hike in daily wages for the labourers under MGNREGS to Rs 275. However, the lockdown has come in the way of labourers benefiting from the hiked wages.

There are 28,000 job cards in Chikkamagaluru taluk. As many as 275 individual works have been sanctioned from April 1, which has guaranteed employment to 1,000 people, said Taluk Panchayat officer H D Revanna to DH.

Ambale Gram Panchayat PDO Shantha said, "Only four labourers can take up work under individual beneficiary work. All have been directed to maintain social distancing. Five individual works have been sanctioned in the Gram Panchayat jurisdiction."

"We have three job cards in our family. Individual work under MGNREGS has been sanctioned. We have taken up work on the cowshed," said H S Geetha, a resident of Hiregowja, in Lakhya hobli.

Zilla Panchayat CEO S Poovitha said that 7,550 individual works have been sanctioned under MGNREGS in Chikkamagaluru district since April 2. The process of verifying the pending action plans is in progress.