KATHMANDU: As the first seven months of the current fiscal year is approaching, 11,765 people have got an average of six days of work under the Prime Minister’s Employment Program (PMEP). According to the program, 69, 906 days of employment has been provided so far.
A total of Rs 11.60 billion has been allocated for the program this year. The program pays an average of Rs. 500 to the listed unemployed for 13 to 15 days a year. So far, the local level has said that the workers have worked on 3,023 small projects.
According to the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, about Rs 7 billion has been sent to the local level for this year. A minimum of 100 days of employment can be provided to 133,300 people.
The government has a plan to provide employment to 200,000 people by implementing labor-intensive projects in the public works carried out at the local level. However, the number of people seeking such seasonal work and enrolling in local level employment service centers is 743,205.
In the last few years, the government has spent billions of rupees on cleaning drains, and sweeping roads. But there has been criticism that money has been spent on work that can be done through public labor.
This year, local governments have sent a list of proposed projects to the Ministry of Labor for the program. The federal government has not manipulated the projects sent by the local level in any way. Permission has been given to those who are on the unemployed list to get jobs in the projects selected by the local level.
In the past, the budget for this program was spent only towards the end of the fiscal year. This year too, most of the locals had proposed to spend for road, culvert maintenance, and other projects