New Delhi, Sep 30 (IANS): Over 54 per cent of the total budget for the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA), a short-time employment programme initiated for migrant labourers, has been spent and nearly 30 crore man-days' employment has been created so far, the Union Ministry of Rural Development said on Wednesday.

As per the ministry, about 30 crore mandays' employment has been provided and Rs 27,003 crore has been spent so far in the pursuit of the objectives of the Abhiyaan.

The GKRA for 125 days was launched in June with an objective to provide employment to the migrant labourres in a mission mode in 116 districts, each with a large concentration of migrant returnees, in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha, with a budget of Rs 50,000 crore of which over 54 per cent has been spent so far.

As per the ministry statement, a large number of structures have been created, including 1,14,344 water conservation structures, 3,65,075 rural houses, 27,446 cattle sheds, 19,527 farm ponds, and 10,446 community sanitary complexes.

As many as 6,727 works have been taken up through the District Mineral Funds, 1,662 gram panchayats have been provided internet connectivity, a total of 17,508 works related to solid and liquid waste management have been undertaken, and 54,455 candidates have been provided skill training through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) during the Abhiyaan.

The Abhiyaan's success so far can be seen as the convergent efforts of 12 ministries/departments and state governments, which are giving higher quantum of benefits to the migrant workers and rural communities, said the ministry statement.

GKRA was launched to boost employment and livelihood opportunities for migrant workers returning to villages and similarly affected citizens in rural areas in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.