LG greets on Jumat-ul-Vida

Rs 170 Cr released as MGNREGA wages

JAMMU: Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu on Thursday conveyed his greetings to the people of the union territory on the occasion of Jumat-ul-Vida, even as his administration has disbursed Rs 170 crore under MGNREGA ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr to help the workers to celebrate the occasion with fervour and joy.
In his message for the public, Murmu observed that Jumat-ul-Vida has a great spiritual significance and is an auspicious occasion.
Murmu said he hoped this occasion would be a harbinger of brotherhood, amity and harmony among the people and prayed for peace, progress and prosperity in Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, in order to mitigate the economic hardships faced by the rural poor during COVID-19 pandemic, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RDD&PR) has disbursed Rs 170 crore under MGNREGA ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr.
The department has disbursed around Rs 183 crore to benefit the poor which have been otherwise rendered jobless due to the prevailing lockdown imposed across the country to stop the spread of the outbreak. Following the resumption and roll out of MGNREGA works since April 20, 2020, the Department has taken up more than 14000 development projects under MGNREGA which include 1670 water conservation and irrigation works, 4000 rural infrastructure works and 8300 PMAYG houses generating as many as 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 don’t have to venture out of their homes to collect the wages physically.
On the occasion, Secretary RDD & PR, Sheetal Nanda said, “At a time when the livelihoods of millions of people have become uncertain, the Governments of India and J&K are effectively ensuring that the people of J&K don’t 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 amounting to Rs 170 crore just a few days before Eid festival would come as another big relief to the MGNREGA workers in rural areas.”