Lok Sabha Question No. 2412 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-09
Subject: Impact of Corona Pandemic in Rural Areas
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Mahesh Sahoo

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2412

ANSWERED ON 09.03.2021

## IMPACT OF CORONA PANDEMIC IN RURAL AREAS

## 2412.  SHRI MAHESH SAHOO:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the impact of the Corona Virus pandemic in the rural areas of the country;
- (b) whether the Government has undertaken any survey of the said impact in the rural areas and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the next course of action to support redevelopment of  the said areas?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a) to (c) Measures were taken by the Ministry of Rural Development for providing relief and boosting  employment  and  livelihood  opportunities  in  rural  areas  during  the  Corona  Virus pandemic. However, the Ministry has not undertaken any survey on the impact of Corona Virus pandemic in the rural areas of the country.

Ministry of Finance, Government of India, on 26th March 2020, announced relief package under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) for the poor to help them fight the battle against Corona Virus. The relief package announced includes, inter-alia

- i. One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 500 per month for 3 months (April, May and June 2020) to women Jan Dhan Account holders. In pursuance of this, Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD)  implemented  the  scheme  of  relief  package  of  one-time  ex-gratia  payment  of Rs 500 per month for 3 months (April, May and June 2020) to women Jan Dhan Account holders through various Banks. A total of Rs. 30956.97 crores has been released towards direct  benefit  transfers  to  20.64  crore  Women beneficiaries of Jan Dhan account holders under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) @ Rs. 500/- each for three months.
- ii. Ex-gratia of Rs.1000 in two instalments (Rs.500/- each) to the existing old age, widow and disabled/Divyangjan beneficiaries of the schemes of National Social Assistance Programme(NSAP).  A total of Rs. 2814.50 crore as ex-gratia was released in two tranches in  April  and  May,  2020  to  States/UTs  under  PMGKY  for  the  existing  282  lakh beneficiaries of NSAP schemes.
- iii. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA) wage rate revised w.e.f. 1.4.2020 with average wage rate increase of Rs.20 over the wage rate of 2019-20.
- iv. The  collateral  free  credit  limit  for  the  Self  Help  Group(SHG)  members  under  National Rural Livelihood Scheme (NRLM) enhanced from Rs.10 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh.

Apart from this, Government of India launched the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA) on 20 th June, 2020 for a period of 125 days to boost employment and livelihood opportunities for returnee migrant workers and similarly affected citizens in rural area, in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic with resource envelop of Rs. 50,000 crore. The objectives of the Abhiyaan were to provide  immediate  employment  &  livelihood  opportunities  to  the  distressed,  to  saturate  the villages  with  public  infrastructure  and  creation  of  livelihood  assets  to  boost  the  income generation activities and enhance long term livelihood opportunities by giving focus on 25 works in 116 selected districts across 6 States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The Abhiyaan is a convergent effort of ongoing 25 schemes of 12 Ministries/ Department of Central Government. More than 50 crore man-days of employment was created under the Abhiyaan with an expenditure of Rs. 39292.81 crore.

Four schemes of the MoRD namely, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme  (Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS),  Pradhan  MantriAwaasYojana-  Gramin  (PMAY-G), Pradhan  Mantri  Gram  Sadak  Yojana  (PMGSY)  and  Shyama  Prasad  Mukherjee  RURBAN Mission (SPMRM) have been identified under the GKRA. The achievement in this regard is as under:

- i. PMAY-G has sanctioned a total of 770522 houses and completed 481210 houses with a total expenditure of Rs.5618.19 crore.
- ii. Under PMGSY, as against the target of Rs. 2902 crore, an expenditure of Rs. 1529 crore has been incurred as on 30.11.2020.
- iii. Under  SPMRM, the  development  works  in  47  Rurban  clusters  under  GKRA  have  been implemented with fast pace for providing employment and livelihood opportunities to the rural citizens. During the abhiyaan period, 13494 works have been completed against the target of 13886 which is 97% of overall physical target and Rs. 693.55 crore expenditure (including convergence expenditure) has been made which is 87% of financial targets taken by SPMRM under GKRA.

Other major steps taken by the MoRD under various schemes during the outbreak of Covid-19 for expeditious socio- economic development in rural areas are listed below:

- i. Mahatma Gandhi NREGS which is a demand driven wage employment programme provides at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year is to every rural  household  whose  adult  members  volunteer  to  do  unskilled  manual  work.  During  FY 2020-21 (upto 06.02.2021), more than 326 crore person-days have been generated, which is approximately  44%  more  than  the  employment  generated  during  the  same  period  in  FY 2019-20  and    more  than  1.61  crore  new  job  cards  have  been  issued.  Government  has enhanced the allocation under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA for Financial Year 2020-21 from BE Rs.61,500 crore to Rs.1,11,500 crore.
- ii. PMAY-G aims to provide assistance to eligible rural households for construction  of  2.95 Crore Pucca houses with basic amenities to achieve the objective of 'Housing for All' by 2022.  In  the  current  FY,  35.44  lakh  houses  have  been  sanctioned  and  24.44  lakh  houses have been completed in PMAY-G and 0.64 lakhs in Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) with an expenditure of Rs.39195 crore.
- iii. PMGSY was launched in the year 2000 as a measure towards alleviation of poverty in rural areas by providing access to basic services to the rural population by providing them good quality  roads.  During  the  period  of  COVID  states  were  directed  to  accelerate  the  pace  of works  so  as  to  create  more  employment  opportunities  and  boost  rural  economy.  Under PMGSY, 25,943 Kms. of road length has been completed in 2020-21 and expenditure of Rs. 18,923 Cr. Incurred during this financial year.
- iv. SPMRM is a unique programme, designed to deliver catalytic interventions to rural areas on the  threshold  of  growth.  300  Rurban  Clusters  with  thematic  economic  growth  points,  are being developed across the country under this Mission. The Ministry had issued an advisory to  the  States/UTs  regarding  modification  in  existing  projects/works  proposed  in  DPR  of cluster due to Covid-19 pandemic and to include more economic activities in order to reboot the rural economy. Cluster wise consultations have been convened with PRI members, SHG representatives as well as State and district functionaries to identify issues and suggestions with  respect  to  further  improving  the  on-ground  implementation  of  the  Mission.  Under SPMRM, a total  expenditure  Rs.  3089  Cr.  including  convergence  funds  and  critical  gap funds has been incurred during financial year 2020-21.
- v. Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission(DAY-NRLM) aims to reduce  poverty  by  organizing  the  rural  poor  women  into  Self  Help  Groups  (SHGs),  and continuously  nurturing  and  supporting  them  to  take  economic  activities  till  they  attain appreciable  increase  in  income  over  a  period  of  time.  During  the  year  2020-21  (till  Jan 2021), the Ministry of Rural Development under DAY-NRLM facilitated women Self Help Groups to leverage credit of Rs 56417 Crores from formal banking system for investing for continuation of their exiting economic ventures and also acquire new productive assets to start new enterprises.

There  are  two  other  skill  development  programmes  for  rural  poor  youth  under  DAY-NRLM, namely,  Deen  Dayal  Upadhyaya  Grameen  Kaushalya  Yojana  (DDU-GKY),  and  Rural  Self Employment  Training  Institutes  (RSETIs).   Both  these  schemes  are  aimed  at  increasing employability of rural poor youth either for wage or self-employment. After unlock orders and opening of training centres, under DDU-GKY a total of 9986 candidates have been trained and 36933  candidates  have  been  placed  in  jobs  during  the  current  financial  year  2020-21  (upto December,  2020).  Under  RSETI  a  total  of  111367  candidates  have  been  trained  and  93874 candidates have been settled during the current Financial Year 2020-21(upto December, 2020).

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