TURA: At a time of rising unemployment across the country coupled with weakening of the rupee currency, Village Employment Councils formed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) are playing a pivotal role creating durable assets and providing employment in the rural sector.
One of the most sought after “self-employment” happens to be rearing of livestock, particularly piggery in Garo Hills where hundreds of individuals in various development blocks have begun their individual projects with financial assistance through MGNREGA funds rooted through VECs.
In Meghalaya, as per the MIS data, there are 23,000 individual piggery farmers in the state with Garo Hills being home to a substantial number of these farmers.
“The VEC model has brought developmental organ right into the villages and people are getting definitive resources annually. The VECs are running like a Gram Sabha wherein everyone is participating. It is a very encouraging sign,” said P Sampath Kumar, Commissioner and Secretary of Meghalaya Government’s Community and Rural Development department, who is curently on an extensive tour of the blocks in Garo Hills inspecting different projects.
Crunching numbers, Kumar pointed out that the demand for pork in the north east is a staggering 2 lakh metric ton and Meghalaya, including Garo Hills farmers, can play a major role in its supply.
Currently, due to the widening gap between demand and supply, high breed pigs are having to be imported into the region from Punjab and Utter Pradesh to make up for the shortage in supply of the indigenous variety whose numbers have dwindled over the years due to absence of any project to preserve and encourage its breeding.
From just 1700 active VECs in West Garo Hills in previous years, the current figure stands at 5500 active VECs in the district.
