The district administration on Tuesday started the process of digging 1,001 ponds across Gaya to store rainwater and provide water to farmers for irrigation.

District magistrate (DM) Bandana Preyashi told The Telegraph that the estimated cost for digging the ponds is Rs 28 crore. The amount would come from Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Act (MNREGA).

“The ground water level in the district is fast decreasing. The ponds would not only help store rainwater but would assist farmers as well,” he said.

“The most important factor is that the rural masses will get jobs under MNREGA in their respective villages. This will help check migration of the rural people to other states in search of jobs,” the DM added.

He further said digging of the ponds would generate 19 lakh man-days of employment and people belonging to the Mahadalit community would be mostly used for the job.

The 1001 ponds would be dug in all 332 panchayats of the district. Sources in the district administration said signboards with estimated cost of each pond have been placed at each site to ensure transparency in the project.

There is a provision to provide 100 days of guaranteed job to unemployed people under MNREGA with the daily wage of Rs 144 every day.

“The ponds will be dug on government as well as private land. Fisheries would also be promoted in the days to come,” a source said.

Besides Preyashi, deputy development commissioner Gopal Meena, sub-divisional officers of Gaya (sadar), Sherghati, Nimchak Bathani and Tekari, all 24 block development officers, child development project officers and several MLAs were present at various places in the district when the work began.