A target to spend Rs one crore has been set for every panchayat in Odisha's Koraput district to create employment and assets under the centrally sponsored Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) during 2015-16.
There are 226 panchayats in 14 blocks of the district, officials said.
"Block Development Officers (BDOs) have been asked to achieve the target by March 31, 2016. With only seven months left, they have to speed up the work under the rural job scheme. This will also help us check migration," said Collector Jaya Kumar V.
Under the central scheme, 40 per cent of the total funds are spent on material and the remaining 60 per cent on wages. The administration has asked the BDOs to develop roads, construct check dams, field channels and contour trenches and take up plantation, he said.
Till September 30, the district had spent Rs 72.98 crore under the MGNREGS. "We are hopeful of spending Rs 226 crore by the end of the financial year. The work being undertaken will be regularly monitored by district-level officials," the collector said.
Special attention will be given to Maoist-hit Narayanpatna, Bandhugaon, Lamataput, Boipariguda and Laxmipur, he said, adding that the officials had been asked to ensure there was no obstacle in implementation of the rural job scheme.
