Indian Railways has generated more than 6,40,000 mandays of work till 21 August, 2020 under Gareeb Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan. Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry is closely monitoring the progress made in these projects and generation of work opportunities for the migrant labours of these states under this scheme.
- Around 165 Railway infrastructure projects are being executed in 6 States viz. Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. .
- 12,276 workers have been engaged in this Abhiyaan till 21 August, 2020 and the payment of Rs 1,410.35 crores has been released to the contractors for the projects being implemented.
- Nodal officers have been appointed by railways in each district as well as in the States so that a close coordination is established with the State Government.
- Railway has identified various railway works which are being executed under this scheme.
- The works are related to:
- Construction and maintenance of approach roads for level crossings.
- Development & cleaning of silted waterways, trenches and drains along the track.
- Construction and maintenance of approach road to railway stations.
- Repair and widening of existing railway embankments/cuttings.
- Plantation of trees at extreme boundary of railway land.
- Protection works of existing embankments/cuttings/bridges.
About Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan:
- In June this year, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched a massive employment-cum-rural public works campaign ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan’ to empower and provide livelihood opportunities in areas/villages witnessing large numbers of returnee migrant workers affected by the devastating COVID-19.
- The Prime Minister announced that an amount of Rs 50,000 crores would be spent for building durable rural infrastructure under this Abhiyaan.
- This Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan of 125 days, is being undertaken in mission mode, and involves focused implementation of 25 categories of works/ activities in 116 districts, each with a large concentration of returnee migrant workers in 6 states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha.
- Public works being undertaken during this campaign will have a resource envelope of Rs. 50,000 crores.
Convergent efforts by Ministries/Departments:
The Abhiyaan is a convergent effort between 12 different Ministries/Departments, namely; Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Road Transport & Highways, Mines, Drinking Water & Sanitation, Environment, Railways, Petroleum & Natural Gas, New & Renewable Energy, Border Roads, Telecom and Agriculture, to expedite implementation of 25 public infrastructure works and works relating to augmentation of livelihood opportunities.
Source: PIB-Press Release
