Date:18/01/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/01/18/stories/2004011802650300.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Anantapur

40,000 mandays to be created in all mandals

By Our Staff Reporter

ANANTAPUR, JAN. 17. About 40,000 mandays are being created in every mandal of the district for wage-seekers as part of drought relief measures. Works to the tune of Rs. 10 lakhs to each mandal were sanctioned in the third week of November and the same value of works were sanctioned again a couple of days ago.

According to the Joint Collector, Shashibhushan Kumar, the fresh sanction of works takes the total amount of work sanctioned to each mandal to Rs. 20 lakhs. On an average, each mandal will get works costing Rs. one lakh, he stated. About 50 per cent of the works sanctioned in the first phase were already grounded and were in various stages of progress.

Mandal-level officers have been directed not to use any machine or material for wage works. Remuneration to labourers of wage works will be paid 75 per cent in rice component and the rest in cash. He stated that a majority of the works taken up so far included repairs and renovation of water bodies, desiltation of supply channels to water bodies, formation of gravel roads and completion of incomplete gravel roads. Everyone who is in need of work will get work now, he claimed.

However, remuneration (wages) to labourers is linked to the SSR rate of the Government and output of work. On an average, every labourer will get Rs. 50 in the form of rice and cash for every working day, he explained. Wage seekers can opt for other choices, if they have any opportunity, to get higher wages.

Besides, the administration is also planning to take up wage works with general funds available with the mandal praja parishads by tying-up rice with the funds at 1:1 ratio. Put together, all the 63 mandals have general fund of about Rs.1.5 crores, the Joint Collector stated. Rice worth another Rs. 1.5 crores will be tied-up with the funds to take up more wage works in the needy villages.

Regarding other development programmes, the JC said kitchen sheds were sanctioned to 1,100 schools with more than 50 student-strength last year. Most of them were completed already. Another 1,128 schools were sanctioned the sheds this year, he stated. The district is also first in the implementation of individual sanitary latrines scheme, school sanitation scheme and the one-crore boons programme.