Srinagar, July 22: Jammu and Kashmir has provided employment to over 10.6 lakh women under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme during the last three financial years, with participation rising from 3.3 lakh in 2022-23 to 3.8 lakh in 2024-25, official data tabled in Parliament on Tuesday revealed.
The figures were shared by the Ministry of Rural Development in response to a question in the LokSabha, showcasing a steady year-on-year increase in women’s participation in rural job schemes across the Union Territory. As per the official reply, 3.3 lakh women availed work under the scheme in 2022–23, 3.5 lakh in 2023–24, and 3.8 lakh in 2024–25.
Nationally, the Ministry said that women’s share in the total MGNREGS workforce has increased from 48% in 2013-14 to 58.1% in 2024-25, with J&K contributing meaningfully to this upward trend.
Although the government said that it does not plan to convert these into permanent jobs, it highlighted several welfare measures to support women under MGNREGS which include separate wage schedules for women and vulnerable groups, creche facilities at worksites with five or more children, and the requirement that at least 50% of site supervisors (mates) be women, preferably from Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
