Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh has decided to make the MNREGA scheme more women friendly.
According to a letter written to all Chief Ministers on December 3, 2012, Ramesh had suggested that new women-centric guidelines would be issued for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
The decision to introduce new guidelines comes in the backdrop of evaluations and assessments of the Central scheme. These include opening new bank or post office accounts for women workers for crediting wages in their accounts.
In a subsequent letter, dated December 21, Ramesh made further suggestions including identifying widowed, deserted and destitute women and provide them with job cards and ensuring 100 days of work; less strenuous work close to home for pregnant women and lactating mothers; and gender, age, level of disability, terrain and climate sensitive schedule of rates.
Ramesh also said that States should ensure that at least 50 per cent of the supervisors at all worksites were women, besides providing the workers with facilities such as crèches, drinking water, shade and other amenities.
Ramesh, along with Jayanthi Natarajan, Renuka Chowdhury, Ambika Soni and Girija Vyas, is a member of the Congress’ internal committee on gender.
The group is expected to deliberate on steps that need to be taken for women’s empowerment during the party’s Chintan Shivir to be held in Jaipur later this week.
aesha.datta@thehindu.co.in