Kolkata, Jun 15 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday said the Centre has allocated Rs 8,500 crore to the state under the VB-G RAM G scheme.
West Bengal has been allocated Rs 8,508 crore under the scheme for the 2026-27 financial year, the second-highest among all states after Uttar Pradesh, which has been earmarked Rs 9,721.48 crore, according to figures released by the Union government.
Under the Gram Sadak Yojana, allocations worth Rs 2,400 crore have been approved and Rs 1,000 crore released by the Centre, he said.
“The Centre has allocated around Rs 8,500 crore for West Bengal under the scheme, which will ensure 125 days of employment for rural families,” the chief minister said, while launching the state-wide ‘Jan Kalyan Shivir’ programme from Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district.
Adhikari said 1,100 ‘Jan Kalyan Shivir’ camps, being organised from June 15 to June 17, will help people access 54 central and state government schemes.
“This is the first such outreach programme of the BJP government in West Bengal. People can visit the camps between 10 am and 5 pm to learn about various welfare schemes and submit applications for enrolment,” he said.
The chief minister said welfare schemes should not reach illegal immigrants and questioned extending benefits to families that do not send their children to recognised schools, or to institutions where ‘Vande Mataram’ is not sung.
Alleging irregularities in beneficiary databases under the previous regime, Adhikari said the government wants to identify genuine recipients of welfare schemes.
“We want benefits to reach genuine beneficiaries and not to fake account holders,” he said.
Long queues of applicants were seen at several locations on the opening day. The camps will cover 54 schemes, including Annapurna Yojana, Ayushman Bharat and several other welfare programmes.
He said the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G) scheme replaced MGNREGA, and it guarantees 125 days of employment annually to rural households.
Adhikari said the sizeable allocation for West Bengal under VB-G RAM G would boost rural livelihoods and accelerate development work across the state.
The Centre allocating over Rs 8,500 crore for West Bengal under the scheme assumes significance in the backdrop of the erstwhile TMC dispensation repeatedly accusing the Union government of withholding funds for the MGNREGA, the 100-day work guarantee scheme which made way for VB G-RAM G.
The TMC government had accused the BJP-led Centre of withholding more than Rs 17,500 crore under MGNREGA and claimed the state had paid beneficiaries from its own funds. The Union government, however, maintained that the release of funds had been halted over alleged irregularities in the implementation of the scheme. PTI BSM ACD
