Centre to run FFW pilot project in 11 districts in Maharashtra

The Union government has initiated a food-for-work (FFW) scheme in 11 districts in Maharashtra identified by the Union Planning Commission.

The pilot project (FFW) will run on the lines of the 30 year old employment guarantee scheme (EGS) undertaken by the state government, and it will subsequently be replicated by the Centre in other states as well.

The Centre will spend Rs 2 crore per district annually in Ahmednagar, Dhule, Nandurbar, Aurangabad, Hingoli, Nanded, Yevatmal, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli under the FFW scheme. The collector's office in the concerned district would be the nodal agency to implement the Union government scheme.

The state government has suggested that while the scheme seeks to gainfully employ unskilled labourers through the year under the scheme, it should also be extended to skilled segments of jobless workers in the state.

Another suggestion made to the Union Planning Commission by the state pertains to the payment mechanism.

The state, which has successfully been implementing the EGS scheme for the last 30 years, has also said that instead of the weekly payment mechanism envisaged in the FFW scheme, wages (cash and food-grains) could instead be disbursed every fortnight. Weekly payments entail arduous effort, the state government has pointed out.

Both these suggestions are actively being considered by the Planning Commission. The Commission has identified 11 districts in the state as the most backward.

Once the FFW scheme is successfully implemented in the state, the Union government will launch it nationwide in all the states as well.

Under the EGS scheme, the workers are employed as daily wage earners in various road, irrigation and other projects undertaken by the state government. In many instances it was found that while a cash component was also available, many workers at times opted for their entire earnings to be disbursed to them in the form of foodgrains.

A senior secretariat official told Business Standard, "This was at the time when the price of wheat in the open market was Rs 9 per kg. The workers realised that the state government disbursed the same quality of wheat to them calculating it at the rate of Rs five per kg. Therefore, they preferred their entire wage in kind."

Under the current FFW scheme, an special provision has also been made so that the foodgrain of choice be made available to the workers. For instance, in Chandrapur those employed under the FWW would be able to get rice, their staple diet, instead of wheat. Similarly, wheat and jowar will also be disbursed as per their choice, the official said.