Chandigarh: In the wake of the ensuing monsoon season, the state government has embarked on a special drive to dewater and desilt village ponds to tackle drainage issues in rural areas during the heavy rains.
Rural Development and Panchayat Minister in a statement on Saturday said that the top priority would be accorded to desilting, dewatering, and rejuvenation of village ponds as it was done last year.
Divulging the details, the Minister said that dewatering of 12244 village ponds out of a total of 14919 ponds was done last year besides desilting of 7345 ponds, in 2020, adding that on similar lines, a special drive is being launched in May and June 2021.
Bajwa further added that all the works would be completed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) so that rural folks get ample employment opportunities amid the prevailing health crisis arising out of the CoronaVirus pandemic.
Divulging more, the Minister said that as many as 21,22,032 man-days were generated last year under this project, which ensured alleviation of rural distress amid these trying times. He also mentioned that the officials were asked to register maximum numbers of the rural workforce under MGNREGA so that they could be provided with employment opportunities and urged them to demonstrate utmost professional commitment and dedication in this task.
Bajwa stated that the directions in this regard have already been issued by the financial commissioner of the department Seema Jain to all field officers ranging from block to district level during a virtual meet adding that all the Panchayats were authorized to incur funds from their resources on these works. Meanwhile, he added that another project to avert road mishaps was also being started in the state wherein reflective radium straps would be tied on the stray cattle, alongside a sterilization drive to address the stray dogs menace.
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