AIMS & OBJECTIVES OF THE SCHEME

The principal aim of the Employment Guarantee Scheme is to provide gainful and productive employment to the people in the rural areas and in the areas of 'C' class Municipal Councils, who are in need of work and are prepared to do manual labour but cannot find it on their own. The employment has to be gainful to the individual and productive to the economy of the States. The guarantee to provide work has been restricted to unskilled manual work. The fundamental objective of the scheme is that on completion of the works undertaken, some durable community assets should be generated and that the wages paid to the workers should be linked with the quantity of work done.

The statistics relevant to employment in rural areas of the state as per 2001 census is as under:-

(a) No. of districts: 35
(b) No. of districts in which EGS is implemented: 33 (excluding Mumbai City District and Mumbai Suburban District)
(c) No. of Tahsils: 353
(d) No. of Tahsils in which EGS is implemented: 350
(e) No. of Blocks: 298
(f) No. of 'C' Class Municipalities: 162
(g) No. of villages (2001 census): 40,412
(h) Total population of the State (2001 census): 9.67 crore
(i) Total rural population: 5.57 crore
(j) % of rural population to total population: 58
(k) No. of small farmers (1 to 2 Ha): 31.7 lakh
(l) No. of marginal farmers (up to 1 Ha): 42.6 lakh
(m) No. of Agriculture labourers: 83.1 lakh
(n) No. of rural families below poverty line: 19.4 lakh
(o) Total No. of labourers registered: 42 lakh.