Bhubaneswar: Opposition BJP and Congress members, Thursday, came down heavily on the state government for remaining a mute spectator over mounting unemployment and large-scale migration of Odia workers to other states.
The state government, the Opposition alleged, has failed to solve the unemployment problem as it did nothing during the last 20 years to create job, prevent migration to and torture of Odia workers in other states.
Opposition parties have moved an adjournment motion on “Unemployment problems is alarming in the state resulting in lakhs of people migrating to other states in search of jobs and being tortured there. Why is the government mum?”
Participating in the debate on the admissibility of the adjournment motion, Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra— quoting a media report— said the unemployment rate is the highest in the country in the last 45 years.
He said 85 lakh people in Odisha have no jobs. “After ruling the state for nearly 20 years, the government has failed to provide basic services to the people. This government has no moral rights to continue,” the Congress leader said.
The state government failed to fill up even the sanctioned posts in various departments.
Out of the total 5.83 lakh sanctioned posts, more than 1.31 lakhs posts are lying vacant. In crucial Home department alone, Mishra said out of 88,181 sanctioned posts as many as 16,731 posts are lying vacant.
The unemployment in agriculture sector on which 80 per cent of the people depend for their livelihood, is also going up. He added that this year around 25 lakh families will be jobless due to drought in the state.
Agriculture labourers, small and marginal farmers would be forced to migrate to Gujarat, Hyderabad and Telangana in search of jobs and will be exploited.
The Congress leader regretted that the MGNREGS is almost non-existent. In the absence of employment, the youths are becoming addicted to drugs and committing crimes.
His party colleague, Tara Prasad Bahinipati said migration is the highest in Ganjam, the Chief Minister’s district. He demanded the Minister to reserve 75 per cent of jobs both in private and government sector on the lines of Andhra Pradesh for the youths of the state.
Deputy Leader of Opposition Bishnu Charan Sethi (BJP) said the unemployment problem is acute in the state. The government, he said, had betrayed the people of the state by not creating jobs for them.
In the last 17 years only 50 people have got jobs in Boudh, Ganjam and Bhadrak districts while employment is zero in Puri and Boudh districts during the same period.
Sethi said the government has imparted skill development training to 64,211 youths during 2011-18 and only 18.3 per cent of them have got jobs.
He further said that 34.4 lakh youths have registered their names in the various employment exchanges out of which only 45,783 have got jobs. The BJP leader warned the government to resolve the problem as soon possible otherwise the day is not far when youths of this state will rise in revolt.
His party colleague Mukesh Mahalinga said around two lakh people migrate from Bolangir alone in search of work. Mahalinga suggested the government to launch a programme in KBK areas to check labour migration.
In his reply, Skill Development & Technical Education Minister Premananda Nayak accepted that unemployment has been a problem for a long time and said, “State government accords highest priority to skill development and employment of youths of our state. In order to provide large scale employment and self-employment opportunities to the youth of our state, the state government has taken up a number of measures through various departments of the state to make them employable nationwide both in manufacturing and service sector.”
He said the state government has created Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA) in 2016-17, which is working relentlessly towards skill development and employment in the state.
To look after safety and welfare of the Odia migrant workers, the minister said that the state government has undertaken various activities like drawing of comprehensive action plan for migration workers, voluntary registration of the workers at Panchayat level. Besides, help desks have been opened in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and New Delhi and migration support centres have been opened under DDU-GKY scheme at New Delhi, Bengaluru and Tripura to assure initial backup support to the Odisha youths in those places, he added.