Siliguri, June 14 -- The BJP-led West Bengal government is exploring ways to adapt the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) to extend housing benefits to tea garden workers in north Bengal, Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Dilip Ghosh said.
Speaking to reporters here on Friday after a review meeting with administrative officials on panchayat affairs in Siliguri, Ghosh said one of the key eligibility criteria under PMAY is ownership of land. However, most tea garden workers reside on tea estate land and do not possess individual land titles, making them ineligible for the scheme in its present form.
"The issue of land rights is central to extending housing benefits to tea garden workers. We have learnt that Assam and Tripura have adop...