Essays

Introduction. The greatest and most difficult problem which India is facing at present is the problem of unemployment. It is both in rural and urban areas. A number of programmes have been implemented to provide employment. This programme have met with little success and therefore in the last in the series is the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana, 1989.

Funds for the Yojana. The previous Prime Minister announced the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana in the Lok Sabha and it became operative from April 28, 1989. In the first year the Central assistance for the implementation of the Yojana has been placed at Rs, 2,100 crores. The Centre will give 80% while the States will provide 20% of the funds.

What the Yojana aims at? Under this programme of Yojana Panchayat will be the implementing body and thus the middle men have been sought to be eliminated. The Jawahar Yojana aims at reaching every Panchayat whereas only 55% villages Panchayat were covered under earlier rural employment programmes.

Allocation of funds under the Yojana. Each Panchayat will get Rs. 80,000 to Rs. 1 Lakh to implement the Yojana. The idea is that at least one member from 440 lakh rural families living below the poverty line, will be provided employment for 50-100 days in a year. Thus, adequate funds will be placed at the hands of villages Panchayats, to run their own rural employment schemes in the interest of the vast masses of the rural poor. The funds under the Yojana will be allocated to States in proportion to the size of the population which fall below the poverty line. Further devolution of their funds to districts will be determined in terms of criteria of back-wardness, such as the proportion of Scheduled Caste and Tribes, proportion of agricultural level and the level of agricultural productivity. Special consideration will be given to meeting the requirements of geographically distinctive areas such as nils, deserts and islands.

Special feature of the Yojana. A salient feature of the Yojana is that 30% of employment to be generated under the scheme worked be reserved for women. The nomadic tribes would also be benefitted from the scheme.

The implementation of the programme is open. Further, the implementation of programme would be more open than even before. Every villager will know how much money has been made available for the programme. He will also know who are his fellow villager being employed on the scheme.  Each beneficiary will know how much remuneration he was receiving and others are receiving.