To mitigate economic hardships faced by rural poor during COVID19 pandemic, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj on Thursday disbursed Rs 170 crore under MGNREGA, ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr to help workers celebrate the occasion with fervour and joy.
The department disbursed around Rs 183 crore to benefit the poor who have been rendered jobless due to the prevailing lockdown.
Following the resumption and roll out of MGNREGA works since April 20, the department has taken up more than 14,000 development projects under MGNREGA, generating Rs 5.28 lakh person-days in J&K.
The additional tranche of funds of Rs 170 crore disbursed with an aim to boost the rural economy stand transferred through more than 11 lakh transactions directly in a single day into the accounts of beneficiaries through electronic-Fund Management System (e-FMS) via digitally signed Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs) so that these people do not have to venture out of their homes to collect the wages physically.
Secretary RDD, Sheetal Nanda said governments of India and J&K were effectively ensuring that the people of J&K do not face any hardships during the lockdown.
“Earlier, we had disbursed as many as Rs 183 crore to MGNREGA workers and now this new release of funds of Rs 170 crore just a few days before Eid festival would come as another big relief to the MGNREGA workers in rural areas,” she said.