PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said the Viksit Bharat Guarantee of Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) VB- G RAM G scheme which replaces Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) will help in improvement in rural infrastructure and strengthen the rural economy. Addressing a Press conference at the secretariat on Tuesday, the CM said that along with providing development based guarantees, the new law will provide rural families with the right to 125 days of employment instead of earlier 100 days. Under this scheme, a mandatory unemployment allowance has been established for those who fail to find work within 15 days, and the responsibility of the officer responsible for this has also been fixed. He added that payments under this system will be weekly and compensation has been provided for delays. The CM said that technology based transparency has been ensured in the work carried out under VB-G Ram G scheme. It utilizes various technologies such as biometric attendance, geo-tagging and GIS mapping, mobile apps and public dashboards, AI-based fraud detection and mandatory social audits twice a year. The use of all these technologies makes it a corruption-free employment guarantee scheme, he claimed. The works under it can be legally halted for a maximum of 60 days during the sowing and harvesting seasons. Dhami said that in the new work the real power is bestowed on Gram Panchayats. He stated that under this scheme, work will not be imposed, but the Gram Sabha will determine the development work identified. The CM said works related to water conservation, rural infrastructure, livelihood assets and disaster management will now be undertaken under the scheme. This will provide employment to everyone and strengthen the village. He averred that under VB-G RAM G, a special focus has been placed on women’s empowerment. Administrative expenses under the scheme for training, honorarium and monitoring have been increased from six to nine per cent which will help in improving the quality of work, ensure timely payments and strengthen monitoring. He clarified that for the Himalayan states such as Uttarakhand, the central and State government share in the VB GRAM G has been kept at 90: 10 which will reduce the burden on the state and accelerate the development of rural areas. Terming the scheme extremely important for the State, the CM said as a mountainous and disaster-prone State, it will play a vital role in water conservation, disaster management and rural infrastructure. It will make Uttarakhand’s villages self-reliant and secure, and will further strengthen the development of Gram Sabhas. Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt and MLA Dilip Rawat accompanied the CM on the occasion.
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