The state government of Jharkhand will launch an employment guarantee scheme for the urban unskilled workers, much like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Called Mukhyamantri SHRAMIK (Shahri Rozgar Manjuri for Kamgar) Yojna, the scheme will ensure 100 days of paid work for urban unskilled workers and provide unemployment allowance to those who do not find employment within 15 days.
The scheme is presently awaiting the cabinet’s approval. Kerala is the only other state in the country, which has its own employment-guarantee scheme apart from Jharkhand. However, in Kerala there is no provision of unemployment allowance for the workers.
More than five lakh migrant workers have returned to Jharkhand post imposition of lockdown. Most of them are without work and waiting for restrictions to ease before they can return to work.
In the first 30 days, workers will be eligible for an unemployment allowance, which is one-fourth of the basic salary. In the second month, they will receive half of the basic salary and in the third month, they will be eligible to receive the full amount of basic salary if they still do not find work.
The final budget for the scheme is yet to be determined.
Under the scheme, workers will be able to find jobs with urban local bodies and be involved in work, such as being part of the cleaning crew or laying pipelines and telephone wires.
With help from the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Jharkhand is working on a software for the scheme. Workers registered under the scheme will receive job cards similar to the ones issued under MGNREGA
