The government believes it as an important initiative since a lot of land levelling, plantation and other activities are required to be undertaken on these lands to make them more productive.
The additional person days through MNREGA will allow the households to undertake additional work on their own land. This is one among the several initiatives taken by the Rural Development Ministry for the uplift of the tribals.
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said though the primary focus of this raise in workdays is on the tribals, people from other communities, who are beneficiaries under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 would also be covered by the Cabinet decision.
“By the decision of the cabinet, this guaranteed employment will increase from 100 days to 150 days in the tribal areas of the country and in the districts, which are declared Maoist affected,” Ramesh told reporters here.
Of the total 14 lakh families, who are the beneficiaries under Forest Right Act, about 1.6 lakh have completed 100 workdays under MNREGA.
They hail from Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Ramesh expressed confidence that the new initiative would help in a big way for countering the left wing extremism.
“Not only will tribal families benefit from 150 days of employment, but also help in increasing the green cover in forests,” he noted.
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