Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojna

The Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) was launched on 25 September, 2001 by merging the on-going schemes of EAS and the JGSY with the objective of providing additional wage employment and food security, alongside creation of durable community assets in rural areas. The programme is self-targeting in nature with provisions for special emphasis on women, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and parents of children withdrawn from hazardous occupations. While preference is given to BPL families for providing wage employment under SGRY, poor families above the poverty line can also be offered employment whenever NREGA has been launched.

The annual outlay for the programme is Rs.10,000 crore which includes 50 lakh tonnes on food grains. The cash component is shared between the Centre and the States in the ratio of 75:25. Food grains are provided free of cost to the States/UTs. The payment of food grains is made directly to FCI at economic cost by the Centre. However, State Governments are responsible for the cost of transportation of food grains from FCI godown to work-site/PDS shops and its distribution. Minimum wages are paid to the workers through a mix of minimum five kg of food grains and at least 25 per cent of wages in cash.

The programme is implemented by all the three tiers of Panchayat Raj Institutions. Each level of Panchayat is an independent unit for formulation of Action Plan and executing the scheme. Resources are distributed among District Panchayat, Intermediate Panchayats and the Gram Panchayats in the ratio of 20:30:50.

The Gram Panchayats can take up any work with the approval of the gram sabha as per their felt need and within available funds. Fifty per cent of the funds earmarked for the gram panchayats are to be utilised for infrastructure development works in SC/ST localities. 22.5 per cent resources must be spent on individual beneficiary schemes meant for SCs/STs out of the resource share of District Panchayat and Intermediate Panchayats. Contractors are not permitted to be engaged for execution of any of the works and no middlemen/intermediate agencies can be engaged for executing works under the scheme. The programme is regularly monitored. The programme is being evaluated through impact studies conducted by reputed institutions and organisations sponsored by the Central/State governments.