On the occasion of May Day, the State's rural poor, particularly the seasonal agricultural labourers, have much to complain about the flagship employment scheme which gives the citizens the right to demand for work. The much touted National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) which came into effect from February 2006 with an outlay of Rs 16,419 crore for the initial year has come a cropper in the State with all the provisions of the Act being openly flouted.

The Jorhat district administration today called a meeting to prepare the roadmap for the implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme here. The scheme, which came into effect from April 1, entails the provision of employment for at least 100 days to every needy rural household in a fiscal year. In the current phase, NREGA will be executed in 14 districts of Asom.

Highlighting the plight of the poor in rural areas, particularly women, Brinda Karat of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday asked the government to allocate more funds for rural development schemes. She also favoured lowering of productivity norms for minimum wages under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) so that more villagers could benefit.

The Union Ministry of Rural Development has granted Rs 20.84 lakh to Goa as release of part payment of the first installment of the Central share for the implementation of the Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) during the current financial year (2008-09). Of the two District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) of Goa, North Goa has received Rs 14.71 lakh (total Centrala allocation Rs 88.25 lakh, first installment due Rs 44.12 lakh) and South Goa has received Rs 6.13 lakh (total Central allocation Rs 36.75 lakh, first installment due Rs 18.38 lakh.

Addressing unemployment and creating awareness on adolescent health issues has always been a challenge for the government. It becomes even more of a challenge with unemployment at 3.7 percent and a majority of HIV infected persons aged between 25-29 years. Creating jobs and training programs and educating the youth on issues like unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections were the focus of a two-day workshop organized by the Youth Centre in the capital.