BENGAL SEEKS TO BRING MIGRANT WORKERS HOME: SUVENDU ADHIKARI PROMISES ₹34,500 ANNUAL INCOME UNDER RURAL EMPLOYMENT SCHEME
November 4, 2026
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday appealed to migrant workers from the state to return home, citing employment opportunities under the VB-G RAM G scheme, which guarantees 125 days of work to eligible job-card holders.
Speaking after a review meeting with the Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Adhikari said each job-card holder was guaranteed an annual income of ₹34,500 under the scheme. He urged migrant labourers working outside Bengal to return and work in their home state alongside their families.
The chief minister said the state government was working towards achieving the Centre's target of generating 22 crore person-days of employment. According to him, work allocations worth ₹12,000 crore had been made jointly by the Centre and the state government.
Adhikari reported that 65.62 lakh person-days had been generated so far, with daily employment reaching 7.09 lakh. Panchayat Minister Dilip Ghosh said the government aimed to raise daily employment to 10 lakh person-days by December, with a longer-term target of 17 lakh.
The chief minister also said the Centre had cancelled 31 lakh fake job cards during the MGNREGA period. Following central clearance, the state had addressed discrepancies involving Aadhaar seeding and issued approximately 10 lakh new job cards.
On administrative reforms, Adhikari announced that the Cabinet had approved the recruitment of 7,190 personnel through the Public Service Commission to strengthen the panchayat administration. Recruitment rules would be amended after the Assembly session, with the newly appointed personnel expected to be deployed by April 2027. Another 1,000 contractual employees would be recruited for one year to address immediate manpower shortages.
The government also plans to construct a full-fledged Panchayat Bhavan on a five-acre plot in New Town. Adhikari said a booklet detailing 375 development schemes had been published and would be taken to rural communities through public outreach campaigns, including folk music.
On rural housing, Dilip Ghosh said 47 lakh beneficiaries who had been deprived of homes under the previous government would receive houses over the next two years. He also alleged that corruption under the previous state administration had resulted in a loss of at least ₹80,000 crore over four years.
Adhikari said the Panchayat and Rural Development Department would be transformed into a model department within two years, presenting rural employment generation, administrative recruitment and housing delivery as key priorities of the government's development programme.
