Promoting employment through "work" and relieving people's livelihood through "relief." On May 29, the 2024 work-relief demonstration project of Gaochang Town broke ground in Qingchen Village. With this, all three work-relief projects in Xuzhou District for 2024 have commenced construction.
The 2024 work-relief demonstration project of Gaochang Town is located in Qinghua Village and Qingchen Village of Gaochang Town and is implemented through village self-construction. The scope of work includes hardening 6.5 kilometers of rural roads and renovating three mountain ponds. The total investment of the project is 4.7 million yuan, of which 1.62 million yuan is expected to be paid out as labor remuneration. After the project starts, it will drive more than 200 local people from poverty-alleviated households, especially disadvantaged groups, and low-income groups to work locally and nearby.
Ao Ping, a villager from Qingchen Village in Gaochang Town, said excitedly: "We thank the work-relief project for building roads and water channels for us, enabling us to work and earn money right at our doorstep and paving a path to happiness of higher output and income."
Qinghua Village and Qingchen Village in Gaochang Town have several industries including camphor, fruit, and pig farming. Once the work-relief project is completed, it will further improve basic road infrastructure conditions and promote rural industrial development.
Liu Guangrong, Party branch secretary of Qingchen Village in Gaochang Town, said happily: "The work-relief project is an excellent project benefiting the people and has been the villagers' long-held expectation. After the roads are hardened into concrete roads, the first thing solved is the difficulty villagers have in traveling, making travel more convenient and faster, and at the same time increasing villagers' confidence and determination to develop industries."
Work-relief refers to a support policy under which the government invests in building infrastructure projects and relief recipients obtain labor remuneration by participating in project construction, thereby replacing direct relief. In 2024, Xuzhou District focused on rural revitalization industries and, centering on projects suitable for manual work and labor-intensive in nature, actively secured three work-relief projects, respectively located in Guanyin Town, Zhanghai Town, and Gaochang Town, with a total investment of 15.32 million yuan, of which 4.32 million yuan is expected to be paid out as labor remuneration.
Zha Hao, person in charge of work-relief at the Xuzhou District Development and Reform Bureau, said: "Next, the Xuzhou District Development and Reform Bureau will carefully carry out project planning and actively strive next year to bring more and better work-relief projects to Xuzhou District, support the development of Xuzhou District, and further increase the income of the people of Xuzhou District."