SRIKAKULAM: The district topped in the State in the fund transfer order (wage amount transfer to wage worker’s account) under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the last fiscal year, followed by Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and Prakasam districts. With 97.12 per cent fund transfer orders (FTOs), generated in just three days Srikakulam topped, while Visakhapatnam with 96 per cent, East Godavari at 95.3 per cent and Prakasam with 93.13 per cent occupied the next three positions. Chittoor came last with 83.25 per cent FTO.
Similarly, the district also stood second in the State in the overall expenditure under various components in the MGNREGS by spending Rs 816.51 crore in the earlier fiscal while Prakasam topped by spending Rs 1,094 crore. Krishna district came last in the overall expenditure by spending only Rs 485.75 crore. As more than 80% of the district population lives in rural areas and depends on agriculture and allied sectors, the MGNREGS has emerged as the main source for survival for the people of Srikakulam.
Out of the 28 lakh projected population and 21.75 lakh voters, 11,89,234 people are working as wage seekers in the MGNREGS, which is more than 50 per cent of the total voters in the district. Of the total Rs 816.51 crore overall expenditure in the earlier fiscal, Rs 480.05 crore was spent under wage component, Rs 296.77 crore under material component and Rs 39.68 crore under contingency expenditure, DWMA PD H Kurma Rao.
The wage expenditure of Rs 480.05 crore in the last fiscal was 60 per cent higher than 2017-18 where only Rs 294.24 crore was incurred. As Rs 480.05 crore was spent under wage expenditure, Rs 320.03 crore worth material development entitlement was generated in the last fiscal year. Srikakulam also stood third in the State by providing 248.99 lakh mandays to wage seekers in 2018-19. Prakasam topped the State by providing 299.65 lakh mandays followed by Vizianagaram with 261.23 lakh mandays and Srikakulam with 248.99 lakh mandays.
Krishna district figured last in the list by providing only 91.52 lakh mandays in the 2017-18 fiscal.
Average wage per day had increased to Rs 192.8 in the 2018-19 fiscal, while it was only Rs 131.52 in 2017-18 in the district. As many as 7,102 families had completed 100 days wage works from Seetampeta mandal, which topped the district, followed by Etcherla with 5,264 families and Santabommali with 4,675 families had completed 100 days wage works. On the whole as many as 82,602 families had completed 100 days wage works in the district in the 2018-19 fiscal.
Similarly, Nandigam topped the district by generating Rs 202.4, an average wage rate per day, followed by Sompeta with Rs 202.11 and Seetampeta with Rs 199.37.Similarly Ranasthalam topped the district by generating as many as 11,96,991 mandays followed by Etcherla at 11,25,674 mandays and Santabommali with 10,54,934 mandays, he added.
Prakasam provides 299.65 lakh mandays
Srikakulam also stood third in the State by providing 248.99 lakh mandays to workers in 2018-19. Prakasam district topped the State by providing 299.65 lakh mandays followed by Vizianagaram district with 261.23 lakh mandays.