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Festive bonanza: Kerala to give ₹1,000 as Onam allowance to MGNREGS, AUEGS workers
The state government had earlier announced ₹4,000 as a festival bonus for employees of state sectors, and ₹2,750 as a festival allowance for those who are not entitled to the bonus
The Kerala government on Friday announced that it will pay an Onam allowance of ₹1,000 to those who have completed 100 days of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and the state scheme of Ayyankali Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme (AUEGS).
“It has been decided that those who have done 100 days of work under MGNREGS and AUEGS will get a festival allowance of ₹1,000. Around 4.6 lakh workers in the state will get this benefit,” state finance minister KN Balagopal told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram today.
The minister said the state government has set aside ₹46 crore for this.
An official in the finance department said such festive allowances for MGNREGS workers were given by earlier governments as well.
AUEGS, a scheme run by the Directorate of Urban Affairs, was launched in 2010 on the lines of MGNREGS to provide at least 100 days of unskilled manual work a year to members of urban households at minimum wages. It was designed as a social safety net for those who do not have full-time employment.
The state government had earlier announced ₹4,000 as a festival bonus for employees of state sectors, and ₹2,750 as a festival allowance for those who are not entitled to the bonus.
Around 1.3 million people in the state are eligible to get the incentives for Onam, the finance minister added.
