DNAThursday, August 20, 2009
NREGA card holders may be 1st to get UID numbers
Nistula Hebbar
New Delhi: National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) job card holders may be the first to get unique identity (UID) numbers. This is likely to be announced at an NREGA workshop on Thursday. The announcement coincides with former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's birthday.
UID chairman Nandan Nilekani and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi will attend the workshop, which will unveil "the second phase of NREGA".
"This will be a gala event and will take NREGA to the next level as far as implementation is concerned," a source said.
According to sources in the ministry, UID numbers will be coupled with NREGA and urban development ministry-allocated employment cards as one of the first examples of its applicability.
"This will be a symbolic start to both the UID and the second phase of NREGA," a source in the rural development ministry said.
NREGA will be expanded to cover 27 projects. "So far, NREGA works were restricted to preservation of water bodies and other such prescribed activity, but now, NREGA activities will include farm labour and road building as well.
This has been done keeping in mind that we are in the midst of a drought-like situation," the source said.