BLURB-
West Bengal has directed district magistrates to identify migrant workers’ families for rural job cards, offering up to 125 days of guaranteed wage employment annually and encouraging workers to return home.
KOLKATA
The West Bengal government has directed all district magistrates to identify families of migrant workers for issuing Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards under the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act. The cards will provide eligible rural households with up to 125 days of guaranteed wage employment each financial year.
The Panchayat Affairs and Rural Development Department issued a circular asking district administrations to begin and complete the identification process at the earliest. Officials said the programme is aimed at creating regular income opportunities in villages, strengthening local economies and encouraging migrant workers to return to their home districts.
According to the state Labour Department, more than 22 lakh migrant workers have been identified in West Bengal. Their details have already been shared with district administrations. Officials will now verify the information and identify the families that can benefit from the rural employment guarantee.
The government has asked district magistrates to treat the exercise as a priority rather than a routine administrative task. Murshidabad has the highest number of identified migrant workers, with around four lakhs, followed by Malda with nearly three lakh and West Midnapore with more than 1.5 lakh.
The employment guarantee under the new law is mainly intended for adult members of rural households willing to undertake unskilled manual work. The state has received an assurance of central assistance for implementing the scheme, while around Rs 1.265 crore has been allocated by the state Rural Development Ministry. Officials said the initiative could provide families with a local source of income and reduce their dependence on migration for employment.
