Odisha chalks out plan to give livelihood opportunities to migrant workers

With the arrival of a large number of migrant workers in the state, the Odisha government on Wednesday chalked out plans for providing livelihood opportunities to them in rural areas in the post-lockdown period, an official said. Chief Secretary A K Tripathy has directed district collectors to take up more employment-intensive projects for them under the MGNREGA and Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM), the official said.

Twenty lakh man-days should be generated by May 31 while around 12 lakh man-days have already been generated as on Wednesday, an official statement said. More than 3.5 lakh migrant workers have so far reached the state in a span of only 25 days and the government expects another five lakh people to return to the eastern state in the coming days and all of them need a source of livelihood, he said.

Tripathy also directed departments, particularly, the forest and environment, soil conservation, horticulture, sericulture, fisheries and animal resource departments, agriculture and farmers empowerment, and ST and SC development to take up additional projects under the MGNREGA for engaging more daily wage labourers. The chief secretary urged the district collectors to plan the projects systematically so as to create sustainable community assets in different sectors of the rural economy.

The collectors were also directed to start at least two works in each village by the first week of June. "It was decided to sanction and implement the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) projects in a campaign mode," the official said.

The government has also decided to take up employment-intensive projects such as creation of farm pond, nutri-garden, trench around all forest areas, large scale plantation, fodder cultivation, horticulture, sericulture, field bonding and water-shed development. Critical gap projects and innovative schemes not defined under MGNREGA could be taken up in convergence with the OLM, the chief secretary said.

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