By Our Correspondent
KEONJHAR/BHUBANESWAR: Ashish Thakare, the name is enough for now. The young IAS officer of 2011 batch , hailing from Maharashtra, since took the baton of Odisha’s mineral rich Keonjhar district, has been taking one after another people friendly measures by using funds of District Mineral Foundation(DMF).
The Keonjhar District Collector, Thakare in yet another masterstroke on Tuesday, announced that all students of Class IX and X studying in Government and Aided Schools in mineral rich district will now receive free textbooks, uniforms and mid-day meal under DMF, from this academic year onwards.
Further, Class X students who perform well in the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) examination will be awarded scholarships ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000, according to the marks scored.
The main objectives of the initiative are to prevent the drop-out of students after Class VIII, address their nutritional needs during adolescence, encourage them to successfully complete their schooling cycle and also support them financially to pursue higher studies beyond Class X level.
It is seen that out of every 100 children in the district who enrol in Class 1, less than 60 of them successfully manage to continue their studies beyond Class X. One of the key factors for the high transition loss is the sudden withdrawal of support provided to students in the form of free textbooks, uniforms and mid-day meal, after Class VIII.
In a socio-economically backward district like Keonjhar, where more than 55% of the population belong to the Schedules Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the initiative is expected to transform secondary education in the district, in the coming years.
To be implemented at a cost of Rs 22 Crore per annum under DMF, the initiative which is also in-line with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (draft), 2019 will benefit about 50,000 students of Class IX & X of the district, every year.
It may be noted here that due to the pro-active role played by Collector, Keonjhar district has been providing 44 percent more on the minimum wages under the MGNERGA during the financial year 2020-21.It has earned the rare distinction of being the first district in the entire nation to provide 44 per cent more on minimum wages.
The Keonjhar district administration said the decision was taken in view of the adverse impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the economy. The present MGNREGA wage of Rs 2O7 per person per day will be added with Rs 91 to take it to Rs 298 to match the minimum salary as notified by Labour & ESI Department of Odisha.
The funds under the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) Trust in the district is being used for such purpose. A rural household after completing 100 days of wage employment will now earn Rs 29,800 under MGNREGA. The programme has been implemented at a cost of about Rs 95 crore under DMF. Over 3.78 lakh active workers in Keonjhar are expected to benefit directly from the initiative.
All MGNREGA workers in Keonjhar district would be paid the minimum wage during the FY 2020-21. The District Mineral Foundation (DMF) would provide the minimum wages to all MGNREGA workers by increasing the wage rate from Rs 207 to Rs 298, a rise of about 44%, for the same number of days as notified by the Labour & ESI Department, said Collector-cum-Chairman and Managing Trustee of DMF Ashish Thakare.
Implemented at a cost of Rs 95 crore under the DMF during FY 2020-21, more than 3.78 lakh active workers in the district are expected to directly benefit from the initiative. A rural household that completes 100 days of wage employment would now be able to earn as much as Rs 29,800 a year under the MGNREGA.
The current MGNREGA wage rate of 207 per person per day will be ‘topped up’ with Z 91, in order to match the minimum wage rate of 298, notified by Labour & ESI Department, Government of Odisha, by utilizing the funds accrued under the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) Trust, Keonjhar.
MGNREGA workers in Keonjhar district will earn about 44 % more income, working for the same number of days under MGNREGA.A rural household in the district that completes 100 days of wage employment will now earn 29,800, under MGNREGA.To be implemented at a cost of about Z 95 crore under DMF, more than 3.78 lack active workers in Keonjhar are expected to directly benefit from the initiative.
The District Mineral Foundation (DMF) fund has been specially created under the provision of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957, Amendment 2015, section 9B, to compensate the mining affected people and areas in mineral bearing districts that have been bearing the brunt of mining activities in their day- to- day life.
As per the provision of the law, every major mining lease holder has to pay a part of the royalty, which is 30 per cent in case of lease before January 13, 2015 and 10 per cent in case of lease after this date, to the DMF fund as per the royalty rate decided by the Central Government. In case of minor minerals the State Government has decided 30 per cent of the royalty for the lease granted not through auction and 10 per cent of the royalty in case of lease granted through auction to be paid to the DMF.
The Ministry of Mines, Government of India has setup details guideline under Prime Minister Kanija Khetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) to spend the DMF fund in the mining affected areas since 2015. It has been said in the guidelines that the fund is meant to spend for affected families and displaced due to mining projects.
