Andhra Pradesh has topped all states in providing the highest wage employment with 16.7 crore person days for wage seekers through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). "AP has achieved a record 16.7 crore person days in MGNREGA against a target of 16 crore person days by June 30," said Gopal Krishna Dwivedi, Panchayat Raj Principal Secretary on Thursday. Incidentally, the state achieved this feat within three months, leading to the utilisation of 83.5% of approved labour budget.

"Andhra Pradesh stood first at the national level in providing maximum number of average days of employment per household. Highest ever person days generated up to June since inception of the scheme in the year 2006," said an official. In the run up to this achievement, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in April aimed to generate at least 1 crore person days in each district by the end of June, in order to meet the growing demand for wage employment in rural areas due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As many as nine districts achieved 1 crore person days and this was possible because of the fortnightly reviews with the district collectors by Jagan and other officials, the state government said. "During this pandemic, the scheme got implemented successfully and an amount of Rs 2,015 crore has been paid to female wage seekers and Rs 1,603 crore to male wage seekers," said the official.

The reverse migration that was a result of the pandemic has increased job seekers under the MGNREGA scheme, as the migrant labourers who left their native places seeking employment have come back. Earlier in June, the state Panchayat Raj Minister Peddi Reddy announced a plantation drive along 26,000 km-long national, state and panchayat raj roads and railway tracks. The entire drive is being done under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Andhra Pradesh.