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The Rajasthan government has started an ambitious initiative to give 100 days of employment to poor families in urban areas, similar to the MGNREGA rural job guarantee scheme. More than 2.25 lakh households have already enrolled for the Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Scheme, which was announced in the state budget this year by chief minister Ashok Gehlot.
The initiative, which will be inaugurated on September 9, will encompass environmental preservation, water and historical conservation, garden upkeep, removal of encroachments, unlawful sign boards, hoardings, banners, and other items. The proposal would also include sanitation, cleanliness, and other similar projects.
Key takeaways
- According to the Chief Minister, creative steps have been made to execute the ‘Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme’ in the state along with the ‘Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.’ So far, over 1.5 lakh individuals have registered for the scheme.
- Under the Chief Minister’s budget announcement for the fiscal year 2022-23, the ‘Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme’ is being implemented along the lines of MNREGA to provide financial assistance to families living within the urban bodies of the state’s urban areas, particularly economically weaker, helpless, and unemployed families.
- The goal of this plan is to safeguard the safety of urban families by providing them with 100 days of guaranteed work every year. This initiative would also assist urban households in earning a living.
- It is the country’s largest urban job guarantee initiative. An annual budget of Rs 800 crore has been set out for the project.
- Members between 18 and 60 residing in the local body area would be registered under the initiative using their Jan Aadhaar card. The applicant’s ward or zone will be supplied with employment.
India's most extensive program to provide jobs for residents of urban areas
Rajasthan will launch an urban employment guarantee plan on September 9 with a budgeted allocation of Rs 800 crore in 2022-23. More than 2.2 lakh households have enrolled under the initiative, which is meant to employ the poor and needy, including those afflicted by the epidemic.
In his budget statement earlier this year, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced the beginning of the initiative, named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The initiative would give 100 days of employment to urban households, similar to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
Eligibility for Urban Employment Program
This would be the nation’s most extensive program to provide jobs for those living in cities, according to official sources who spoke here on Monday. All family members of a job card holder between 18 and 60 are eligible to find employment through the program. For efficient implementation, the State government has formed committees at various levels.
The program will create jobs in historical preservation, eliminating property vandalism, cleanliness and sanitation, protecting the environment and water resources, and service-related labour. The qualified individuals will work on a tree plantation, cleaning ponds, gathering trash, and capturing stray animals.
The ratio between the material cost and the wage for general labour jobs will be 25 to 75. For specialised works requiring technical skill, this will differ. The Department of Local Bodies of the State Government will be in charge of carrying out the plan.
The committees at the state, district, or local body level will authorize and carry out the work permitted under the program.
The state government will reward the local bodies participating in the program that does an outstanding job.
Why UEGs (Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme) are Needed
Previous Plans
- Urban employment programs in India have a long history, including the 1997-launched Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY).
- Through self-employment and paid employment, it gave the jobless and underemployed urban poor access to employment.
- In 2013, the National Urban Livelihoods Mission took the role of the SJSRY (NULM).
- However, none of them offered “job guarantees.”
UEG requirements
The mounting anguish of the urban poor, which has mainly gone neglected for a long time – Covid merely made it worse — necessitates a program offering a guarantee.
- The majority of unemployment statistics
Including that the government’s own Periodic Labour Force Survey and the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy indicate that jobless rates are often more excellent in metropolitan regions.
Add to that the reality that the urban poor in India are the ones most impacted by the country’s chronically high inflation, as this Crisil investigation showed.
- Structural problems
Low-wage, low-quality, informal labour is still widely prevalent in Indian towns and cities.
According to PLFS statistics, little over 50% of the urban population is still self-employed or working for casual pay, even though regular paid employment is becoming more common.
- Emphasis on the rural sector
Making problems worse is the fact that rural unemployment and poverty are prioritised in the majority of government assistance programs, whether they come from the Union government or state governments.
MGNREGA’s existence is an excellent example.
Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan is another illustration.
UEG (Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme) Funding
- The majority of the state-level UEGs are supported by meagre Budgetary allotments.
- However, a national UEG would need a significant Budget commitment.
- A UEG program that covers an estimated 20 million urban casual employees for 100 days at a salary rate of Rs 300 per day would cost the union government roughly Rs 1 lakh crore, according to a figure made by academics at APU and published in The Indian Forum.
- The number of individuals covered and the guaranteed pay would determine the actual Budget outlay.
