National Food for Work Programme
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its approval for introduction of National Food for Work Programme (NFFWP). NFFWP will provide additional supplementary wage employment in the identified 150 Districts of the Country. NFFWP is a 100 per cent centrally sponsored scheme and will be provided to the States free of cost. The transportation cost, handling charges, taxes on food-grains will be the responsibility of the States.
The UPA Government under its Common Minimum Programme declared that a National Employment Guarantee Act will immediately be enacted. This will provide a legal guarantee for at least 100 days of employment, to begin with, on asset-creating public works programmes every year at minimum wages for at least one able-bodied person in every rural, urban poor and lower middle class household. In the interim, a massive food-for-work programme will be started. The NFFWP will be open to all rural poor who are in need of wage employment. The NFFWP will be allocation-based in terms of cash and foodgrains. The programme will become fully operational from the next financial year by which Perspective Plan for each selected district will be ready. The Collector will be the Nodal Officer at the distt. level and overall responsibility of planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring and supervision will be that of the Collector of the distt. The Secretarial assistance will be provided to the Collector from the DRDA/Zilla Parishad. A Perspective Plan of the works to be undertaken for 5 years will be got prepared by the Collector with the assistance of experts.
(Release ID :4415)