Jharkhand to launch Mukhyamantri Shramik Yojana

The Jharkhand Government is to launch Mukhyamantri Shramik Yojana for the urban poor on the lines of MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act).

With the launch of the scheme, Jharkhand becomes the second state to launch an employment guarantee scheme for the urban poor after Kerala.

Other States

The Kerala Government had launched Ayyankali Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme for the urban poor.

Similar schemes were also launched by Odisha Government for the urban poor. However, the scheme of Odisha is to operate only for 6 months between April and September.

Key Features

Under the scheme, if a person does not get work within 15 days of his demand, he shall be liable to an allowance of one-fourth of minimum wages. If the person is still unemployed during the second month of his employment demand, he shall receive unemployment allowance of half of minimum wages and equal to minimum wages in his third month of his unemployment.

Highlights

A new post called Shahri Rojgar Sevak is to be created and he shall work on contract basis at municipality level. He is responsible to oversee registrations of workers under the scheme.

The persons employed under the scheme are to be provided with job cards as that of MGNREGA.

Significance

The scheme is to be highly helpful to migrant workers returning to Jharkhand. According to the Jharkhand Government, there are more than 5 lakh migrants in the states that have returned to metro cities since lock down. These are workers waiting to return to work after lock down gets over. Hence, they are in need of temporary financial assistance for which the scheme is of great help.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2020