The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has, apart from providing assured job to the rural agricultural labourers, has enabled a village panchayat to protect a sprawling tank from the onslaught of encroachers.
Nearly 20 acres of the 73-acre tank has already been encroached, said K.R.Kumar, village panchayat president, who had initiated the work of clearing the silt on Wednesday.
As many as 239 women agricultural labourers from Kumulur are currently clearing the silt on a site in the middle of the tank measuring nine metres in length, nine metres in width, and four feet in depth.
The work is expected to be completed in a week’s time and the cleared silt is being deposited on its banks.
Mr.Kumar said that the current drive aimed at protecting the tank from further encroachments so that farmers in the village could optimally utilise its storage for raising paddy.
The current work on the tank would go a long way in strengthening its storage. It would also help avoid any further encroachments in the tank.
Although he took some initiative for clearing encroachments during his earlier tenure in 2001-06, he had to finally give it up as the guidelines of the MNREGS were not in vogue then.
Another tank in Ilusapadaiyan village was also being cleared of silt under MNREGS.
