Govt jobs on offer,drought of takers

One possible reason is that people prefer to migrate from the drought-hit villages to urban areas,where they are assured better returns than the Rs 145 they would have got daily if they had sweated it out in jobs under the EGS.

Another is possible corruption,with EGS and water conversation minister Nitin Raut having ordered a probe in the drought-hit districts of Beed and Jalna to find out if machines are being used instead of manual labour,and if funds sanctioned under EGS are being diverted to agencies that have taken up irrigation and road contracts.

The government is trying to find out the reasons for the poor enrolment of workers in drought-hit areas, Raut said. The minister cited the contrasting enrolment figures of 1972 and now but added,In the current situation,people are reeling under a serious water crisis. It cannot be compared to the drought of 1972,when the problem was one of food.

To attract more workers in 7,100 villages and tackle the drought,the government is looking at modifying its present schemes. The purpose of the EGS was to provide work to every unemployed individual in the rural areas during the drought, Raut said.

He stressed the need to make the schemes more lucrative. One of the biggest concerns is the low wage of Rs 145. Working in a sugarcane field,in contrast,would have earned a villager Rs 210 a day,though not all crops have survived the drought. For work under the forest department,labourers earn Rs 200 a day. And in the cotton-growing belt,private players pay up to Rs 400.

The EGS department,which works on a budget of Rs 200 crore,is hoping to create long-term opportunities during the drought. The government plans to rope in NGOs to coordinate between the department and villagers and undertake local schemes.

The department would also like to revive water bodies that have been abandoned for decades,though this is beyond its present brief. The existing EGS rules have no provision for new irrigation and water conservation projects,nor any for allocating funds for revival and maintenance of old water bodies.

The EGS minister wants changes that would allow investment in old water bodies. This would not only help tackle the drought but also create jobs that can potentially attract villagers. Several hundred small water ponds and canals are lying abandoned. If these are revived,they could become good water sources, Raut said.

WORKSTATS

7,100 villages in 15 districts hit by drought,EGS scheme launched there

2.5 lakh EGS jobs taken up,too low by govt estimate,with migration to urban areas believed to be the primary cause

Rs 145/day wages under EGS,too low to discourage migration