Karnataka's rural jobs push helps curb migration in Kalyana Karnataka
In Shahpur village of Bidar district, four senior citizens — Narshappa, Shivaraj, Nagappa and Tukkappa — have chosen to stay back in their village while many others from the Kalyana Karnataka region have moved to cities in search of work. They are now earning through a rural employment scheme that offers work close to home. "Despite our age, we are supporting ourselves due to employment under the new scheme. It has helped us meet our daily expenses while staying in the village," said Narshappa, who is in his late 60s.
The Bidar district administration is focusing on 12 gram panchayats along the Telangana border, covering villages that face a high risk of migration. Each gram panchayat has been allotted 10 community works and 25 individual beneficiary works. Projects that can engage more than 300 labourers are being taken up immediately, according to Bidar Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Girish Badole.
Officials acknowledge that while the rural employment scheme offers livelihood options locally, it cannot completely prevent people from leaving the region, which is prone to high migration. In Yadgir district, which is facing severe drought, efforts are under way to prevent migration through local employment generation. Deputy Commissioner Rahul Pandve said officials are meeting families on the verge of migrating and offering them an employment guarantee.
The community works being taken up include water-harvesting ponds, cross-drainage works, feeder canals, irrigation channels, open wells, distributary canals and mini percolation tanks. Individual works include farm ponds, open wells, poultry and pig shelters, vermicompost pits and plantations. In high-migration areas, community works that can accommodate a larger number of workers are being prioritised to provide employment to more people.
Four districts of the Kalyana Karnataka region are among the top 10 districts in Karnataka in terms of person-days generated under the scheme, now called VB-G RAM G. Up to August 15, Bidar recorded the highest number in the region at 2.33 lakh person-days, followed by Raichur (2,05,981), Ballari (1,51,648) and Vijayanagar (1,13,232). In contrast, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Chickballapur and Dharwad have recorded the fewest person-days.
Shivamogga district has taken a different approach, focusing more on individual beneficiary works rather than community works. "Shivamogga is an agrarian district where people get jobs in the fields at higher wages. There is hardly any migration from the district in search of agricultural work elsewhere. People mostly move out for white-collar jobs," said N. Hemanth, Chief Executive Officer, Shivamogga Zilla Panchayat. He added that there has been no change in implementation after the scheme was renamed VB-G RAM G, though the number of works has increased from 262 to 318, giving beneficiaries more options.
As part of an awareness campaign, the Shivamogma Zilla Panchayat involved schoolchildren across all 262 gram panchayats in the district. Students were asked to write letters to their mothers highlighting the importance of the scheme. Officials provided the content, which the students copied and addressed to their mothers. The letters were later handed over to the mothers at a programme. "We undertook this exercise involving children to popularise the scheme and ensure that more people avail its benefits," said B.R. Nandini, Project Director, RDPR, Shivamogga Zilla Panchayat. Similar awareness efforts are being carried out in other districts, while the window for applying for fresh job cards remains open.
