SHILLONG, Feb 26: The implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the state has been instrumental in bettering lives in rural Meghalaya — the examples of select few like Kongthong and Ranikor corroborate this contention.
According to a government statement, in Kongthong village, a 90-metre-long bridge has been constructed connecting Mawrah village. The project, for which Rs 80 lakh has been coughed up, will facilitate journey around the hill.
“The construction of the bridge started in 2019 and has provided 196 job cards to the local villagers with an outlay of Rs 50 lakh as wage expense. The bridge is ideated with the support of indigenous engineer and is a perfect example of how indigenous skilled and experienced masons have created a marvellous structure like this,” the statement said.
On the other hand, in Ranikor, steps have been initiated towards better water management.
“Another outstanding work on water conservation took place at Ranikor, where five public washing places, public toilet for men and women that can accommodate 20 persons, storage tank for rainwater conservation, and a faucet were constructed to manage the water usage efficiently. In addition to this, the villagers took water conservation activity by planting trees in their locality,” the statement said.
It may be mentioned that in the last four years, over Rs 4,000 crore has been invested in rural employment in Meghalaya under MGNREGS.
“Simultaneously, an average amount of INR 13,600 has been transferred to each rural household in last four years under the MGNREGS programme, creating more than 75,000 rural infrastructural assets in the past four years,” the statement said.
“The success of MGNREGS in the state is attributed to the unique implementation model at the village level, where there is a Village Employment Council (VEC), which is vested with powers and responsibilities of the scheme. In last year alone, more than 99 per cent of the people who applied for the job cards have successfully received it,” it added.
It is pertinent to note that Meghalaya ranks second in India in providing 100 days of employment to the rural households.