Newz Desk, Durgapur: West Bengal has emerged as one of the poorest performers in implementing the Centre’s newly launched Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-GRAM G), with delays in preparing labour budgets and administrative bottlenecks severely affecting rural employment.
The Union Ministry of Rural Development launched the VB-GRAM G scheme on July 1, extending the annual employment guarantee for rural households from 100 days under MGNREGA to 125 days. According to data presented in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan, the scheme generated 5.44 crore person-days of employment across the country between July 1 and July 23.
Andhra Pradesh topped the list with 1.04 crore person-days, followed by Rajasthan (94 lakh) and Uttar Pradesh (83 lakh). In comparison, West Bengal generated only 60,000 person-days, with just 26,594 rural families receiving employment under the scheme. Andhra Pradesh recorded 14.53 lakh beneficiary families, Rajasthan 12.75 lakh, and Uttar Pradesh 10.28 lakh during the same period. Civil society organisations have attributed the state’s poor performance to the absence of approved labour budgets at the panchayat level.
Anuradha Talwar, convenor of the Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity, alleged that work under the scheme has failed to gain momentum because panchayats did not prepare or approve labour budgets, preventing the state from securing overall approval for implementation. “The previous government failed to prepare the labour budget, and the present government has also delayed the process. Rural workers are demanding employment, but work is still not available,” Talwar said.
West Bengal’s implementation of rural employment schemes has faced prolonged disruptions since the Centre suspended MGNREGA in March 2022, citing alleged irregularities in implementation. Although the Calcutta High Court directed both the Centre and the state to resume the scheme from August 1, 2025, its revival was delayed after the Union government challenged the order before the Supreme Court.
Earlier this year, the Centre asked the state government to prepare labour budgets with approval from elected panchayats before work under the new scheme could begin. However, the process remained stalled.
Talwar claimed that the present BJP government has also struggled to complete the exercise, alleging that many elected panchayat representatives belonging to the Trinamool Congress have remained absent from their villages following the change in government, making it difficult to obtain the required approvals.
She further alleged that labourers across several districts, including Purulia, have repeatedly sought meetings with district officials to press for employment but have received little response.
Meanwhile, the state government has amended the West Bengal Panchayat Act, empowering executive officials to exercise the authority of elected panchayat representatives if they remain absent from office for more than 15 days. The government says the amendment is intended to ensure uninterrupted administration and expedite development works, including implementation of welfare schemes.
