KOLKATA: For the first time since West Bengal’s government initiative was launched, the fifth edition of Duare Sarkar (government on doorsteps) will have no window for a 100-day job scheme amid murmurs in the administration that Nabanna, the state secretariat, is not hopeful of getting funds from the Centre under the MGNREGA in near future. The decision of the government is said to be significant as this could be the last edition of the Duare Sarkar camps before next year’s panchayat elections.
The Centre decided to stop releasing funds under the MGNREGA scheme in December last year after central teams found irregularities. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) used to be implemented by the panchayat department and the 100-day job scheme plays a major role in the rural economy, which has a political impact as well among the rural electorates.
“Usually, a separate counter for the 100-day job schemes is opened at Duare Sarkar camps to ensure people get job cards and get other problems related to the MGNREGA resolved. This time, only one scheme of the panchayat department related to self-help groups has been included in the facilities offered by the camps,’’ said a senior official of the state government.
Mamata introduced Duare Sarkar ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections and it proved effective against the anti-incumbent mood felt earlier during the last year’s high-octane polls.The 100-day job scheme had come to a halt in Bengal in April after the Centre had suspended the release of funds under the MGNREGA alleging gross misappropriation of money over the past few years. The Centre had set a series of conditions to secure funds under the scheme.
“The Centre had asked the state to recover misappropriated funds from persons responsible, mainly panchayat functionaries and deposit the amount in a designated bank account. Recently, the state started recovering some funds but the effort appears to be too little to satisfy the Centre,” said an official of the panchayat department.
Sources in the state secretariat said the government is planning to hold panchayat elections in February last year. “This will be the last edition of the initiative before the rural polls. It is a fact that a large section of the rural population depends on a 100-day job scheme to earn their livelihoods. Since the state is not planning to open any window on the job scheme in the camps, it sends a message that the MGNREGA is unlikely to start soon,” said an officer.
Incidentally, a week ago, the West Bengal government had passed a bill in the Assembly to enhance its borrowing capacity. The move to amend the West Bengal Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2010, was initiated in the wake of the Centre pausing the release of funds under the MGNREGA scheme. Burdened with Rs 70,000 crore debt, Mamata Banerjee-led government is now desperate to keep the flow of funds in the beneficiaries’ accounts unaffected before the panchayat elections next year.