Ranchi: During the lockdown period special focus was put on employment generation under the MNREGA scheme. This feat in employment generation has been achieved by the successful operation of various campaigns. This increase in man-days of work is due to the Birsa Harit Gram Yojana initiated by the State Government for employment generation and the creation of useful assets.
Rajkumari Devi, hailing from Icha village of Gumla is one of the thousands of beneficiaries who received the benefit of the Birsa Harit Gram Yojana and this has paved the way for her economic self-reliance while battling difficult situations. Today, the orchard of Rajkumari Devi, is flourishing with bountiful mango trees and green vegetables.
The Birsa Harit Gram Yojana was implemented across the state. Through this scheme, the livelihood of the villagers is being made prosperous through fruit-bearing trees and the plantation of woody trees. In the year 2020-21, 28,047,32 fruit bearing and 7,047,89 woody trees were planted on 25,695.3 acres of land, adding 30,023 families under the scheme.
For the year 2021-22, a total number of 21,597,22 fruit-bearing and 12,649,86 woody plants were planted on 20,645.48 acres, adding 24,533 families. In this way, 49,644,54 fruit bearing and 19,697,75 woody plants were planted on 46,340.78 acres of land benefiting 54,556 families in these two financial years.
In the previous years, where on an average about 1.5 lakh people used to work daily, with the relentless efforts of the present government on an average, about 4 to 5 lakh people are working daily in the last two and a half years. As a result, there was an increase in the creation of man-days. Birsa Harit Gram Yojana serves as an important link to this growth.