Port Blair, July 04: One Stop Centre (OSC) under the Directorate of Social Welfare organized an online awareness session on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA), and the services of the One Stop Centre to enlighten women participants about the objectives, implementation, and benefits of MGNREGA for the short-term economic condition of women.
Dr. Nitin Shakya, Director (SW), emphasized that MGNREGA has played a pivotal role in addressing unemployment in rural India. In addition to providing guaranteed wage employment, it has improved rural infrastructure and empowered marginalized communities. It has significantly contributed to livelihood security and reducing poverty in rural areas.
Mrs. M. Janagi Savuriyammal, Case Worker, One Stop Centre, briefed the participants on the genesis of MGNREGA and its objectives. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, earlier known as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), aims to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do unskilled manual work related to public projects. She stressed the implementation structure of MGNREGA, eligibility criteria to avail the benefits of the Act, the procedure to apply, and the fixation of wages under MGNREGA.
Mrs. Vijaylaxmi, Ombudsman, South Andaman, briefed the participants on the ten entitlements under MGNREGA, such as the right to get a job card, the right to demand work and get it, the right to an unemployment allowance, the right to plan, the right to obtain work within a 5 km radius of the village, the right to work facilities, the right to receive wages within 15 days, the right to compensation for delayed wage payment, the right to time-bound redressal of grievances, and the right to conduct concurrent social audits.
At the end of the session, Smti. Santhi Murugesan, Central Administrator, OSC, briefed the participants on the objectives of the One Stop Centre scheme. The scheme provides emergency and non-emergency services under one roof to combat all forms of violence against women. Through phased counseling, the One Stop Centre offers strategies to deal with various problems and helps women establish favorable relationships with their families. The program was attended by homemakers, SHG members, and the public.
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