Appendix 14

Poverty Alleviation, Employment Generation and Basic Services Programmes, 2006–07

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

The PMGSY, which was launched on 25 December 2000 is a programme to provide road connectivity through good all-weather roads to 1.6 lakh unconnected habitations with a population of 500 persons or more in the rural areas by the end of the Tenth Plan period (2007) at an estimated cost of Rs 60,000 crores. The programme is being executed in all the states and six union territories. Up to December 2006, with cumulative expenditure of Rs 18,281 crores, about 107,569 km of road works has been completed.

Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY)

Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) aims at providing dwelling units, free of cost, to the poor families of the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, freed bonded labourers and also the non-SC/ST persons in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category in the rural areas. The scheme is funded on a cost-sharing basis of 75:25 between the centre and the states. Up to December 2006, with cumulative expenditure of Rs 29,246.27 crores, 153 lakh houses have been constructed/upgraded.

Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)

The SGSY was launched with effect from 1 April 1999, as a result of amalgamating certain erstwhile programmes, that is, the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), the Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA), the Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM), the Million Wells Scheme (MWS), etc., into a single self-employment programme. It aims at promoting micro-enterprises and transforming the rural poor into Self Help Groups (SHG). This scheme covers all aspects of self-employment like organization of the rural poor into SHG and their capacity building, training, planning of activity clusters, infrastructure development, financial assistance through bank credit and subsidy and marketing support, etc. The scheme is being implemented as a centrally sponsored scheme on a cost-sharing ratio of 75:25 between the centre and the states. Up to 31 December 2006, 24.38 lakh SHGs have been formed and 73.25 lakh swarozgaries have been assisted with a total outlay of Rs 16,443.66 crores.

Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY)

The SGRY was launched in September 2001. The schemes of the Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JGSY) and the Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) have been fully integrated with the SGRY. The objective of the scheme is to provide additional wage employment along with food security, creation of durable community, social and economic assets and infrastructure development in the rural areas. The scheme envisages generation of 100 crore man-days of employment in a year. The cost of the programme is to be shared between the centre and the states on a cost-sharing ratio of 75:25. In 2006–2007, up to 31 October 2006, the number of man-days of employment generated under the SGRY was 18.41 crores, while the centre’s contributions in terms of cash and food grains component up to 31 December 2006, were Rs 2,762 crores and 16.67 lakh tonnes, respectively. Under the special component, about 4.44 lakh tonnes of food grains have been released to calamity-hit states in the current year up to December 2006.

DPAP, DDP and IWDP

The Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP) was launched in 1973–74 to tackle the special problems faced by areas constantly affected by severe drought conditions. While the Desert Development Programme (DDP) was launched in 1977–78 to mitigate the adverse effects of desertification, the Integrated Wasteland Development Programme (IWDP) has been under implementation since 1989–90 for the development of wastelands/ degraded lands. The basis of implementation of all three programmes has been shifted from sectoral to watershed basis from April 1995. So far, in 2006–2007, up to 31 January 2007, 3,076 new projects covering 15.38 lakh hectares, 2,270 new projects covering 11.35 lakh hectares and 463 new projects covering 21.08 lakh hectares have been sanctioned under the DPAP, the DDP and the IWDP, respectively.

Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY)

In December 1997, the Urban Self-Employment Programme (USEP) and the Urban Wage Employment Programme (UWEP), which are the two special components of the SJSRY, substituted for various programmes operated earlier for urban poverty alleviation. The SJSRY is funded on the same sharing basis as the IAY and the SGSY. The number of urban poor assisted for setting up micro/group enterprises in 2005–06 was 0.98 lakh against a target of 0.80 lakh, while in the current year, against a target of 1.20 lakhs, 0.53 lakh was achieved by 31 December 2006. The number of urban poor imparted skill training in 2005–06 was 1.42 lakh against a target of 1 lakh. In the current year, against a target of 1.5 lakh, 0.72 lakh was achieved by 31 December 2006. Under the UWEP, the man-days of employment generated was 43.48 lakh in 2005–06. Coverage of beneficiaries under the community structure component was 337.4 lakhs both in 2005–06 and the year up to 31 December 2006.

Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY)

The scheme started in December 2001 and seeks to ameliorate the conditions of the urban slum dwellers living below the poverty line who do not possess adequate shelter. The scheme has the primary objective of facilitating the construction and upgradation of dwelling units for the slum dwellers and providing a healthy and enabling urban environment through community toilets under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, a component of the scheme. The central government provides a subsidy of 50 per cent, the balance 50 per cent being arranged by the state governments with ceiling costs prescribed both for dwelling units and community toilets. Cumulatively, up to March 2006, Rs 936.63 crores had been released as central subsidy for the construction and upgradation of 458,630 dwelling units and 65,331 toilets.

Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)

The JNNURM, which is for a seven-year period from 2005–06, has two main components— Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) Programme and Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP). The BSUP was launched to assist cities and towns in taking up housing and infrastructure facilities for the urban poor in 63 selected cities in the country. The IHSDP, for taking up housing and slum upgradation programmes in non-BSUP cities, was launched along with the BSUP in December 2005. The allocation for JNNURM in 2006–07 (Budget Estimate) is Rs 4,900 crores.

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS)

With the NREG Act being passed in September 2005, the NREGS was implemented from 2 February 2006 in 200 identified districts of the country with the objective of providing 100 days of guaranteed unskilled wage employment to each rural household opting for it. The ongoing programmes of the SGRY and the National Food for Work Programme (NFFWP) have been subsumed under NREGS in these districts. The NREGS was extended to all districts of the country from April 2008. The NREGS, a demand-driven scheme, has its focus on works relating to water conservation, drought proofing (including afforestation and tree plantation), land development flood-control/protection (including drainage in waterlogged areas) and rural connectivity in terms of all-weather roads. Of the Rs 11,300 crores allocated for the NREGS in 2006–2007 (Budget Estimate), Rs 6,714.98 crores was released up to 31 January 2007. Till 31 January, 3.47 crore job cards have been issued and of the 1.50 crore households who have demanded employment, 1.47 crore households have been provided employment. Under the scheme, up to December 2006, of the 53.65 crore man-days of employment generated, 21.13 crores were for women and of about 5.81 lakh works taken up, 2.34 lakh were completed.