West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday (June 15, 2026) said the Centre has allocated ₹8,500 crore to the State under the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G) scheme.
Under the Gram Sadak Yojana, allocations worth ₹2,400 crore have been approved and ₹1,000 crore released by the Centre, he said. Mr. Adhikari made the announcement while launching the State-wide ‘Jan Kalyan Shivir’ programme from Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district.
Mr. 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 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal. People can visit the camps between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to learn about various welfare schemes and submit applications for enrolment,” he said.
The Chief Minister said welfare schemes should not reach undocumented migrants 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, Mr. 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 VB-G RAM G scheme replaced Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), and it guarantees 125 days of employment annually to rural households.
Published – June 15, 2026 01:35 pm IST
