Hyderabad: The Telangana government decided to expand the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in tribal areas to protect poor families from the potential impact of El Niño and drought. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy directed district collectors to speed up implementation and ensure eligible tribal households receive employment support.
Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka jointly chaired a high-level meeting at Praja Bhavan. Ministers, MLAs and MLCs attended the meeting and discussed preparations to address possible drought conditions across the state.
As part of the Telangana MGNREGS measures, officials must immediately issue new job cards to every eligible tribal family that does not yet have one. The government also directed authorities to include every family member aged 18 or above on the job card.
Telangana MGNREGS measures target 125 days of work
The government instructed officials to ensure that each tribal family receives 125 days of employment under the scheme. The decision aims to strengthen livelihood support in rural and tribal areas if El Niño contributes to drought conditions.
Furthermore, the Chief Minister directed district collectors to implement the decisions quickly at the grassroots level. He called for special measures in tribal regions to ensure that eligible families could access employment without delays.
Revanth Reddy also instructed the administration to remain available to people throughout any drought situation. He stressed that no poor or tribal family should face hardship because of a lack of support.
The government’s immediate priorities include issuing pending job cards, updating household member details and ensuring access to 125 days of employment for tribal families under MGNREGS.