Kolkata, June 9 -- The state Panchayats and Rural Development (P&RD) minister Dilip Ghosh on Tuesday marked the resumption of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in West Bengal, announcing that the Centre has already released
Rs 700 crore to be utilised towards wages and material costs during June.
The scheme had remained suspended since March 2022 following allegations of irregularities in its implementation.
The P&RD department has directed all districts to make face authentication mandatory for MGNREGS job card holders.
Ghosh, holding a spade, launched a sub-minor canal excavation project at Jayargari Gram Panchayat in Uluberia II block of Howrah district.
He said that at the first Cabinet meeting after the BJP government assumed office in the state, approval was granted for the Viksit Bharat-Rozgar aur Aajeevika Guarantee Mission-Gramin (VBG-RAM-G), described as the central
housing scheme.
"Workers across all categories-skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled-will find employment under these schemes. They will be engaged in road construction, canal renovation and toilet construction. We will construct a toilet for every household in the state," Ghosh said.
He said the initiative aims to align the panchayat system with the Prime Minister's vision of transforming India into a "Viksit Bharat" by 2047. "This new scheme offers 125 days of work instead of the usual 100, thereby ensuring greater employment opportunities. It will be launched from July 1, 2026," he added.
According to the P&RD department, the Centre has approved a labour budget of 1.53 crore person-days for West Bengal for June 2026. The government expects the programme to generate employment opportunities for around 2.56 crore job card holders across the state.
The wage rates have been fixed at Rs 260 per day for unskilled workers, Rs 390 for semi-skilled workers and Rs 520 for skilled workers.
The state government said special emphasis would be placed on increasing women's participation and creating durable rural assets. Priority areas include water conservation and rainwater harvesting, water resource management, rural connectivity and livelihood-based assets for disadvantaged households.
Employment will be available only to job card holders who have completed e-KYC formalities and whose names appear in the updated 2026 electoral rolls. Existing MGNREGS projects and valid job cards will continue under VBG-RAM-G. The programme also provides up to 60 days of support during unemployment periods and will cover all Gram Panchayat areas in the state.
Ghosh said the Awas Yojana housing scheme and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana would also begin soon. He added that Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari met Union Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday, during which the latter committed Rs 1,700 crore for rural development in Bengal.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.