New Delhi, Feb. 15: The Arjun Sengupta commission on enterprises in the unorganised sector wants to extend the national rural employment guarantee scheme to urban areas. It made the proposal in an initial report released here today, barely a fortnight before the budget.

Despite demands from the Left, the Congress-led government had till November been trotting out excuses on why it could not expand the Rs 2,020-crore pilot project to give employment for 100 days to people in 150 districts. But North Block officials say the government has since changed its mind and will try to extend the scheme across the country.

The Sengupta report could come in handy. The full scheme is designed to cover the entire country and the government is expected to pass legislation to guarantee jobs for the poor for at least 100 days in a year ? a key promise in the common minimum programme.

The law ministry is framing a draft legislation amid fears of a deluge of litigation if the government is unable to meet its obligation.

There could be some provision for the job scheme in the Union budget. Officials said though the scheme will come with a huge price tag it would not be funded through any new tax or cess. ?Money will come from normal plan funds,? a source said.

Roughly Rs 8,000 will be spent on each individual to provide the job safety net. ?The details of the scheme are being worked out by the rural development ministry but we will be making a provisNeion for this,? the source added.