Tripura secured second position among all states of the country for generating mandays under MGNREGA in the present financial year, said AGRICULTURE AND Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath.

Addressing a press conference at Civil Secretariat on Friday evening, Minister Nath castigating the opposition's claims on no jobs in rural Tripura said that so far in the present financial year, Tripura has generated 51.37 mandays and secured the second topped position among all states of the country.

He said that Mizoram bagged first position with 53.88 mandays. Under MGNREGA, so far the state completed 2, 94, 16,312 mandays and 81 lakh mandays are still pending.

After completing pending 81 lakh mandays, the state will get more mandays under centrally sponsored schemes and among 51.37 mandays, maximum jobs have been allotted to the tribal people of the state, which is about 59.47 %.

From 2018-19 to 2023-24, a total of 5, 22,533 properties have been created under MGNREGA including roads, construction of culverts and ponds etc.

He said that in average 46 mandays works competed in 2017-18, 51 mandays in 2018-19, 61 mandays 2019-20, 75 mandays in 2020-21, 72 mandays in 2021-22, 60 mandays in 2022-23 and till date, altogether 51 mandays works has been completed in the Financial Year-2023-24.

Giving details of the fund allocated for MGNREGA, Nath said that the state has received so far Rs.849.45 crore in the FY 2023-24 and issued a total of 6,72,446 job cards and works have been allotted to 5,72,591 persons.

From 2018-19 to till date, the people of the state have received funds of Rs. 3,979 crore and 67 lakh and after increased daily wages, now a REGA worker gets Rs. 225 per day.

Highlighting the developmental activities of the present state government, Minister Ratan Lal Nath said that before BJP government came to power, Tripura has 19,000 Self-Help-Groups (SHGs), now it stand at 51,254 with participation of a total of 4,66,853 persons and government in last five years has given Rs. 504 crore to SHGs and Rs.1113 crore fund through bank loans. Now, Tripura has 83,428 ‘Lakhpati’ Didi.

Similarly, before BJP government came to power, only 3% houses in village were covered with drinking water pipe connections and now it has completed 71.76% pipeline in rural houses, said Nath and added that before five years, Tripura has a stretch of 99 kilometers of national highways, now it has expanded to 461 kilometers.