Bengal CM calls emergency meeting with BDOs over 125-day rural job scheme after complaints

Kolkata, Nov 3 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has convened an emergency review meeting with block development officers (BDOs) from across the state to assess the progress of the 125-day rural employment scheme, amid complaints of sluggish implementation at the district and panchayat levels.

According to state secretariat sources, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) had been receiving several complaints about administrative laxity in implementing the scheme, prompting Adhikari to seek a detailed assessment directly from the officials responsible for its execution at the grassroots level.

“The meeting will begin at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at the headquarters of the West Bengal Panchayat Affairs and Rural Development Department in Salt Lake, on the northern outskirts of Kolkata. Besides the Chief Minister, state Panchayat Affairs and Rural Development Minister Dilip Ghosh and Minister of State Santanu Pramanik will also attend the meeting,” the sources said.

During the meeting, Adhikari is expected to seek block-wise and district-wise details of projects undertaken under the rural employment scheme. He will also seek explanations from BDOs over the slow pace of implementation in certain blocks and the reasons behind the reported administrative shortcomings.

The review follows a meeting convened by the Chief Minister last week with departmental secretaries, principal secretaries and additional chief secretaries to assess the implementation of the scheme. The issue of delays and inadequate progress in several blocks had figured prominently during that discussion.

“Following that meeting, the Chief Minister decided to interact directly with the BDOs to obtain first-hand information about the ground situation. He has also made it clear to the senior bureaucrats heading various departments that any laxity in implementing the rural employment scheme will not be tolerated,” a state secretariat insider said.

Following the change of government in West Bengal after the Assembly elections earlier this year, the state was brought under the Centre’s Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VG-RAM-G scheme. The new arrangement provides for 125 days of guaranteed rural employment annually, compared with the earlier provision of 100 days.

The scheme came into effect in the state on July 1, 2026. However, complaints of delays and inadequate implementation have continued to reach the CMO.

“Despite the new arrangement coming into effect, there have been reports of shortcomings in its execution. The Chief Minister has, therefore, decided to intervene personally and review the progress,” the sources added.

–IANS

src/skp