After initiating action for skill mapping of migrant workers who have returned to their native places, the Rajasthan government has urged the Centre to launch an employment guarantee scheme for the urban poor on the lines of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The labourers’ skills will be displayed on the ‘Raj Kaushal’ portal.
State Labour Secretary Niraj K. Pawan has given instructions for completing the skill mapping work within seven days in the districts where more than 25,000 migrant workers have come back from other States. An affidavit on the subject will also be filed in the Supreme Court by July 8 in a case related to migrants.
Mr. Pawan said the Raj Kaushal portal and the online labour employment exchange were acting as a bridge between industries and workers, with the availability of data on 12 lakh employers and 52 lakh workers, including those registered with the Building & Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board and trained in industrial training institutes and Rajasthan Skill & Livelihoods Development Corporation.
Gehlot sends letter
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has written a letter to Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri asking for an employment guarantee scheme in the urban areas. Mr. Gehlot said such a scheme would provide relief to large sections of the urban population deprived of their livelihood during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Gehlot also requested Mr. Puri to allot more money and extend the time frame for various urban development schemes, besides releasing ₹788 crore due for these projects at the earliest. He sought extension of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) for the next two financial years, along with the budget allocation to the State till March 31, 2022.
