Guwahati, June 20: Tarun Gogoi’s government is gearing up to implement a Rs 11-crore job-generation scheme aimed at putting the lid on ballooning unemployment in the state.

Formulated on the lines of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the ambitious project has set a target to provide employment opportunities to 1.67 lakh youths within three years of its formation. There are over 15 lakh unemployed people in the state.

Assam planning and development minister Prithibi Majhi told The Telegraph today that the government would announce the formation of the scheme by next month. It has already been registered under the Cooperative Society Act.

According to the state’s latest economic survey report, the number of unemployed per 1,000 people in Assam is 21 in the rural areas against five persons at the all-India level.

Similarly, the number of unemployed per 1,000 people in urban areas in the state is 20 against 14 people at an all-India level.

For starters, the government has sanctioned Rs 11 crore for the mission, which will be headed by chief minister Tarun Gogoi as its chairman. Majhi will be its vice-chairman.

Structured as a planning and advisory body, the mission’s primary and only objective will be to resolve unemployment — believed to be the primary reason behind insurgency — by creating employment for the educated, in organised and un-organised sectors, self-employment, entrepreneurship development with special reference to micro enterprises and the farm sector.

At the outset, the project will be run with the officials from the state labour and employment department and the State Institute of Rural Development, Majhi said.

The existing employment-generation schemes, both centrally and state-sponsored ones, would not be brought under the purview of the project, Majhi added.

At least six employment generation schemes are now being implemented in the state such as the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana, Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana, Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana and the chief minister’s Swa-Niyojan Yojana. But these schemes have failed to achieve the desired results.

The mission will impart training to youths in capacity building, skill development and upgrading to set up units through various self-employment schemes. Loans will also be provided.

A committee under the chairmanship of the chief minister’s economic adviser Jayanta Madhav has been formed to oversee the implementation of the action plan, which is yet to be drawn up.

Majhi said the two committees would have a joint sitting on June 22 to give final touches to the mission.

Apart from developing a time-bound action plan, the mission will also suggest measures to derive synergy of the plans and programmes of various departments working directly or indirectly for employment generation.

Its other role will be to advise on institutional and organisational mechanism for effective implementation of the action plan for employment generation and to regularly monitor and oversee employment generation action plans in the state.