Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday launched the ‘Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Scheme’ to provide 100 days of employment in a year to families residing in urban areas.
Launching the programme at a state-level event in Ambedkar Bhawan, Gehlot termed it a “historic initiative”.
He added that the new scheme was mirrored along the lines of MGNREGA, which was started during the UPA government’s tenure for employment in rural areas across the country.
“The positive results of MGNREGA were seen and employment opportunities were easily accessible to the rural unemployed across the country. This also improved the standard of living,” Gehlot said.
He added that MGNREGA proved to be a boon during the employment crisis that followed the Covid-19 pandemic. “Keeping this in mind, the historic decision to start an employment guarantee scheme in urban areas was taken in the budget,” the CM said.
Gehlot said the scheme is expected to cost the state government ₹800 crore annually.
According to the outline, the scheme is open for people in the 18-60 age group. While unskilled labour will be provided a wage ₹259 per day, skilled workers will be given ₹283 each day and mates will be given ₹271 per day.
Local self government and urban development and housing (UDH) minister, Shanti Dhariwal, told news agency PTI nearly 40,000 people got work on the first day. More than 400,000 people have applied for registration and job cards have been issued to 250,000 people, he said.
“We recently held a rally against the Central government over inflation in Delhi. This fight with the Centre will run parallel in public interest but here is an excellent scheme under which various types of works will be done,” said Gehlot.
Work related to environmental protection, water conservation, sanitation, prevention of property defacement, convergence works, service related works, and heritage conservation related will be carried out under the scheme.
Speaking on other welfare projects, CM Gehlot said the state government had made treatment free under the Chiranjeevi scheme. He also highlighted the state government’s initiative to open Mahatma Gandhi English Medium schools to provide education to children in English, and a scheme to distribute free sanitary napkins to women.
