THE district administration has decided to develop 67 model villages under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in nine blocks.
Informing this, Coordinator of MGNREGS, Sambalpur, Sobhit Kumar Bishi said 67 junior engineers working in nine blocks of the district have been entrusted with the task to identify revenue villages in their jurisdiction. Each junior engineer will select one village and personally monitor the development works to be undertaken under MGNREGS in the village, he added.
Work under various categories, including institutional plantation, land development, agriculture, livestock, renovation of traditional water bodies, rural sanitation and watershed will be taken up in the model villages during the ensuing monsoon season.
While kitchen gardening, green fencing and fruit-bearing tree plantation will be undertaken under institutional plantation, development of wasteland and land levelling will be done under the land development category. Besides, feeder channel, compost pit, dug well, vermi-compost, nadep compost, goat shelter, cattle shelter and azolla pit will be developed under agriculture and livestock related work.
This apart, stone packing and turfing on embankments will be undertaken under renovation of water bodies category while soak-cum-recharge pit will be constructed under rural sanitation head.
Moreover, boundary trenches in villages affected by elephant menace, pebble bunding, staggered trenches and stone bunding will be taken up under watershed category.
Bishi said the objective of the programme is to provide work to the rural dwellers during monsoon and at the same time develop livelihood projects to help the villagers supplement their income.
The junior engineers will submit the project proposal for the model village on June 5 and work on the proposed projects will begin from June 8.
So far, the junior engineers have been involved in technical matters only. However, they have now been assigned with the responsibility to develop project proposals for the model village in consultation with the villagers, Bishi added.
