Take some MGNREGA schemes to private farmlands: Hemant Soren

RANCHI: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren today suggested taking more MGNREGA schemes to private farmland, contending it will help farmers who have been suffering due to weather-triggered crop failure.

"Farmers in Jharkhand are very fragile. They break down in the face of even a minor difficulty and go for manual labour," Soren said, referring to how weather-triggered problems haunt farmers.

"Eighty per cent of people in the state depend on agriculture. And everyone knows the vagaries of weather. So, more schemes under MG-NREGA should be taken to the farms of such farmers," Soren said.

The chief minister was speaking at a work shop organised by Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society under the aegis of Union Rural Development Department and attended by Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, Textile Minister S Sambasiva Rao, Chief Secretary R S Sharma and several other officials.

"People say 90,000 wells were dug in Jharkhand under MGNREGA. But they are not enough. Even today you may find no well in the remotest parts of the state. What about people residing in rocky areas," he added.

The chief minister asked the people coming up with questions to "also come up with solutions to their questions".

Suggesting bamboo could also be a source of livelihood besides tasar, cashew nuts and rubber in the state, Soren said banks should play their role by providing loans to take forward welfare projects.