Newz Desk, Durgapur: The implementation of West Bengal’s ambitious 125-day rural employment guarantee scheme, VBG-GramG, has made limited progress since its launch on July 1, with the programme becoming operational in only 400 of the state’s 3,339 Gram Panchayats, according to administrative sources.
The slow rollout has raised concerns within the administration over the timely execution of the nearly ₹14,180-crore scheme, which aims to generate employment while strengthening rural infrastructure across the state.Officials attribute the delay largely to the lack of active participation from Gram Panchayat Pradhans. Many elected representatives are reportedly either not performing their responsibilities or are unavailable, affecting the approval process required for initiating development projects.
Under the existing Panchayat framework, Gram Sabha meetings and the consent of the Gram Panchayat Pradhan are mandatory before any project can be approved and included in the official work plan. As a result, the absence or inactivity of elected functionaries has slowed the implementation process in a majority of panchayats.
Senior bureaucrats have suggested that the state government may consider temporarily revising the administrative mechanism by delegating greater responsibilities to government officials until fresh Panchayat elections are held. Such a move, officials believe, could help expedite project approvals and improve implementation. The scheme carries an estimated outlay of ₹14,180 crore, with each Gram Panchayat expected to receive approximately ₹5 crore for rural development works. The funds are intended to finance infrastructure projects while guaranteeing up to 125 days of employment for eligible rural workers.
Apart from administrative challenges, the Panchayat system is also facing a significant manpower shortage. Administrative sources said nearly 11,000 posts remain vacant across the three-tier Panchayat structure, with around 40 per cent vacancies at the Gram Panchayat level. A large number of these vacancies are for Construction Assistants, who are responsible for supervising development projects on the ground. Officials added that district-level officers are currently handling both state and centrally sponsored schemes, placing additional pressure on the existing workforce. They warned that the successful implementation of the new employment programme would depend on filling these vacant posts at the earliest.
To address the staffing gap, the state government has recently approved the recruitment of around 6,500 personnel, including 5,509 posts in Gram Panchayats, 564 posts in Panchayat Samitis, and 463 posts in Zilla Parishads.
With only a fraction of Gram Panchayats currently implementing the programme, the pace of expansion in the coming weeks is expected to be closely monitored as the government seeks to accelerate the rollout of one of its flagship rural employment initiatives.
