CM Biren said that a LPG refilling bottling plant will also be inaugurated soon in the state.
TFM Desk
Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Friday announced that Manipur will be connected with gas-pipelines (Silchar-Imphal and Kohima-Imphal) soon to ensure disturbance-free gas supply to the State.
The chief minister made the announcement during the distribution function of e-SHRAM cards held at Hotel Imphal.
Speaking as chief guest of the function, CM Biren said that a LPG refilling bottling plant will also be inaugurated soon in the state.
Minister of state (Labour & Employment), Government of India, Rameswar Teli, who attended the function, said that the ministry is planning to start gas-pipelines connecting the capitals of the states of the country. The ministry is considering two roadways — Silchar-Jiribam and Dimapur-Nagaland route for linking the gas-pipelines to Imphal, he added.
Rameswar Teli landed in Imphal on Thursday on a two-day visit to the state.
The MoS expressed that Manipur will touch new heights of achievements with registration and better implementation of the eSHRAM portal. The union government has developed eSHRAM portal for creating a National Database of Unorganized Workers (NDUW) for the first time under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added.
E-SHRAM registration cards were distributed to 30 workers from unorganized sectors while Pension Payment Order (PPO) was distributed under the “Prayaas” initiative of EPFO. Rameswar Teli also distributed cheques and certificates to the ESI beneficiaries present at the function.
The function was organised by the Department of Skill, Labour & Employment & Entrepreneurship, Government of Manipur.
Addressing the gathering, MoS Rameswar Teli said that about 7 crores 30 lakhs workers and labourers have registered in India till now under the eSHRAM portal while the target for Manipur is about 8.65 lakhs.
“We are planning to complete the target for Manipur by the end of December 2021 with the cooperation of the chief minister. We will also ensure that we will provide LPG connection to nine districts of Manipur that have received connections below 90 per cent,” he assured.
The MoS elaborated that under Ujjwala Part I scheme, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has already given gas connection to 1 crore women and the ongoing Ujjwala Part II scheme targets to provide LPG connections to another 1 crore women. There is also a chance that we will start Ujjwala Part III under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), he added.
Stating that the ministry is working on the Ethanol project in all the states of the country, the minister said that the project could not be implemented in Manipur due to some reason.
Minister Teli also encouraged the labourers and construction workers of Manipur to register to the eSHRAM portal so that they can avail of the facility and benefits of the e-SHRAM cards. He also stated that in case of sudden death during labour work or construction activity, the insurance is about 2 lakhs whereas in case of injury, the insurance amount is about 1 lakh. The only documents needed for registration are bank account, telephone number and AADHAR card. Workers can register at Panchayat offices, CJS centres etc. at free of cost, he also added.
Chairman of MBOCWWB, Manipur, MLA Heikham Dingo said that about 58,000 cards have been distributed to workers in unorganized sectors in Manipur till date, out of a total target of around 8 lakhs. The Labour & Employment is an important Department usually ignored by the public but it provides health, educational and other benefits. Unfortunately, for about two and a half years, the department has been lying defunct due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he also said.
Works and Industries minister Th Biswajit highlighted that if one registers to the eSHRAM portal, he can avail of the benefits of PMUY, Ayushman Bharat and other social security schemes.
In his keynote address, deputy labour commissioner K Bono Singh stated that Manipur at present stands at 24 rank amongst the states and union territories of India in E-Shram card registration.