Urban job scheme: How 6 states do it, what is needed to make it work

A council advising the Prime Minister recommends securing employment for the urban poor.

The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) has advocated an urban job guarantee scheme on the lines of MGNREGA, the rural anti-poverty scheme.

Ever since images of millions of migrants walking back to their homes from cities during lockdowns for Covid-19 were beamed on television channels, there has demand to frame a programme for urban unemployment. Six states have such a programme, with Rajasthan announcing one in March 2022. It has allocated a hefty Rs 800 crore for the programme.

However, so far, one big drawback of all the schemes as pointed out by civil society is that