Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch, on Saturday, a massive ₹50,000-crore rural public works scheme called Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan to provide livelihood opportunities to migrant workers who have returned home, as well as people living in rural areas.

The scheme, to be inaugurated by Modi remotely at Telihar village in Bihar’s Khagaria district in the presence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, will also be available in villages across 116 districts in six States ― Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha, apart from Bihar — an official statement said on Thursday. Chief Ministers and other ministers from these States are expected to be present at the virtual launch.

This campaign of 125 days, which will work in mission mode, will involve intensified and focused implementation of 25 different types of works to provide employment to migrant workers on the one hand, and create infrastructure in rural regions of the country on the other, with a resource envelope of ₹50,000 crore, it said.

A total of 116 districts with more than 25,000 returnee migrant workers across these six States have been chosen for the campaign, which includes 27 Aspirational Districts. These districts are estimated to cover about two-thirds of migrant workers in the country.

The Abhiyaan will be a coordinated effort between 12 different ministries/departments, namely, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Road Transport & Highways, Mines, Drinking Water & Sanitation, Environment, Railways, Petroleum & Natural Gas, New & Renewable Energy, Border Roads, Telecom and Agriculture, the statement said.

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