Parliament passes bill extending guaranteed job scheme to J&K

Parliament passes a bill extending the guaranteed job scheme to J&K at the request of the state government.

Parliament on Friday passed a bill extending the guaranteed job scheme to Jammu and Kashmir at the request of the state government.

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The national job guarantee scheme is implemented in 300 districts under the national Rural Employment Guarantee Act, rural development minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh told the Rajya Sabha at the conclusion of a brief discussion on the bill.

The minister said the job guarantee provision had been extended to select districts of J&K but did not have a statutory basis since the original law did not cover the state.

Last year, the state had made a formal request to the rural development ministry to extend the law to them as well so that poor people in the hinterland could avail benefits under the law.

The Lok Sabha has already earlier passed the bill.