Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday released a booklet “Changing Face of Rural Punjab”, chronicling the success of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the State. The booklet has been prepared by Rural Development and Panchayats Department.
Launching the booklet along with his cabinet colleagues, the Chief Minister appreciate the success stories and the marked improvement in the lives of the rural poor as a result of the focused implementation of the scheme in the state. Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa said the department was committed to transforming the face of rural Punjab and wouud continue to focus on creating durable community assets in all villages to ensure their development.
The Department of Rural Development and Panchayats is focusing on providing employment opportunities and livelihood support to the poorest people of the State by creating durable community assets for them. To showcase this, the Department has prepared the booklet showcasing the Best Works in categories like Parks, Individual assets like cattle sheds, Anganwadis, Playgrounds, Plantation etc. carried out in the State since March 2017.
During the last two and half years, under MGNREGS, various assets have been created, such as 1004 Playgrounds, 804 Parks, 161 Nurseries, 87 Anganwadi centres, 644 Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendras, 7000 Sheds for Livestock to individual beneficiaries. Further, streets with interlocking titles amounting to Rs 526.71 crore have been constructed.
Apart from these, as part of MGNREGS, renovation of traditional water bodies and plantation work under the 550th Prakash Purb celebrations of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji has been given major thrust by planting 65 lakhs plants under this programme. As many as 547 lakhs mandays have been generated with expenditure of Rs 1687 crore in the state.