Guwahati, June 17: The Assam government today announced unemployment allowance for workers who fail to get jobs within 15 days of receipt of job applications under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Panchayat and rural development minister Rakibul Hussain told reporters here that unemployment allowance has become mandatory under the MGNREGA and the state government would start giving such allowance to all registered workers at the earliest.

While Hussain said the government is calculating the percentage of unemployment allowance, an official in Dispur said it should not be less than one-fourth of the wages for the first 30 days of unemployment and half of the wages beyond this.

According to Hussain, the daily wage for workers under MGNREGA in Assam has increased to Rs 167. He said altogether 12.66 lakh households have so far been covered under the job scheme.

MGNREGA was the erstwhile UPA government’s flagship rural job scheme that was launched in 2007.

Dispur has been facing criticism for allegedly failing to implement the MGNREGA in the state effectively.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in one of its reports last year, stated that only 9.03 per cent of the registered households in Assam were provided with 100 days’ employment from 2007 to 2012, failing to render the primary objective of the scheme.

Hussain, however, said his department is initiating various steps to ensure effective implementation of MGNREGA. He said electronic fund management system would soon be introduced under which wages of registered workers under MGNREGA would be transferred to their respective bank accounts.

The minister said his department has chalked out ambitious plans to improve manpower and infrastructure at the panchayat level to ensure success of various schemes meant for the welfare of rural populace. He said the state cabinet has already approved 16,000 permanent jobs at the gaon panchayat, zilla parishad and anchalik panchayat levels.

Hussain said the government has already started the process of recruiting computer operators-cum-accountants for 2,200 panchayats.

According to Hussain, the Boko development block office in Kamrup district has become the first block of the country to obtain prestigious ISO certification.

The ISO certification has been given to the block office’s successful handling of public grievances, office management and facilitation services.

An official in panchayat and rural development department said the Boko block has developed facilities for horticulture nurseries, lac cultivation and muga silk farming under the MGNREGA scheme.

Under the Indira Awaas Yojana, a drainage system has been constructed for Boko town and construction of a residential colony for the underprivileged is under way.

The block has also taken up largescale banana plantation under the national rural livelihood mission.