11 lakh ultra poor to get work from October 15

Around 11.20 lakh people are going to be brought under the newly devised "Employment Generation Programme (EGP) for Hardcore Poor" starting on October 15 to help the poor in lean seasons and improve rural infrastructure.
Initially, the programme will be implemented for one and a half months on pilot basis in 124 upazilas of five monga-prone northern districts and 11 Aila-hit coastal districts. A total of Tk 1120 crore has been allotted for the beneficiaries while Tk 56 crore for administrative cost.
The government will execute the EGP in March-April next year. The Ministry of Food and Disaster Management has already finalised the EGP policy.
The programme will be implemented in two phases--first during September-November and the second in March-April. In around five months of these two seasons, more poor people become unemployed.
As per the policy, unemployed and unskilled poor of ages between 18 and 60 and landless and marginal farmers will be eligible for the programme. However, those already benefiting from other safety net programmes cannot be registered for EGP and at least one-third of the total beneficiaries should be female.
For a seven-hour work day, each person under the programme will get Tk 100 for a period of 30 days, said officials at the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management. The marginal farmers and the victims of river erosion, coastal surges and monga will be the main beneficiaries of the programme.
They will be employed in canal digging, dam and road construction, making the premises of educational and religious institutes and cyclone shelter higher, preparing organic fertiliser or in other projects recommended by the ministries concerned for rural development.
The EGP is starting besides a number of other social safety net programmes to feed the vulnerable group. Over 40 percent people of the country are living under poverty line, while natural calamities push more people to poverty.
At least 5.6 lakh beneficiaries will be selected under the programme from 80 upazilas of the monga-prone northern districts and disaster-prone coastal areas where more than 40 percent people are poor. Another 3.36 lakh people will be selected from 253 upazilas having 21 to 39 percent poor and 2.24 lakh from the rest 147 upazilas with 1 to 20 percent poor people.
“We want the hardcore poor to have work and improve their living. At the same time, we are very cautious about proper implementation of the programme, as the past experience is not very good,” said Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzaque.
“But, we must help the poorest people,” he said, adding that the government will ensure stronger monitoring and surveillance to make the programme impeccable.
The caretaker government, in 2008-09 fiscal year, introduced a 100-day employment-creating scheme of Tk 2,000 crore where 20 lakh labourers were rolled. A total of Tk 920 crore was spent implementing the first phase of the programme.
Though the programme benefited the poor it could not contribute to the improvement of rural infrastructure, Razzaque said, adding that this is the reason why the second phase of the programme was cancelled and a new programme has been designed.