Kolkata, Aug 26 (SocialNews.XYZ) The West Bengal government on Wednesday gave instructions to all the district magistrates in the state to identify migrant workers' families in the respective districts for allotment of Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards (GRGCs) that provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment per financial year for rural households willing to do unskilled manual work.
A circular on this count issued by the state's Panchayat Affairs and Rural Development Department had been sent to all the district magistrates asking the latter to start and complete the process of identifying the migrant workers' families in the respective districts at the earliest.
"The 'Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025' has come into effect in West Bengal from July 1 this year. Under this Act, adult members of rural families will get a maximum of 125 days of guaranteed work in a year. However, the work is mainly for adults interested in unskilled manual labour. The administration aims to use this guarantee to create regular income opportunities for the people of the village, boost the local economy and also ensure scope for migrant workers to return to their native state," a state Panchayat Affairs and Rural Development Department official said.
That is why, he added, the issue of migrant workers has been given special priority in the guidelines of the Panchayat Department.
"As per estimates of the state labour department, the number of migrant workers currently identified in the state is more than 22 lakh. That list has already been handed over to the concerned district administration. Now, based on that information, the work of verifying the real situation of the families will begin," the official said.
The state government had advised the district magistrate not to consider the exercise of identifying the migrant workers' families and check their data as a routine exercise.
Instead, the district magistrates have been advised to take up the task as a priority and hence complete the process at the earliest.
Of the 22 lakh identified migrant workers in the state, Murshidabad has the highest number at around four lakh, followed by Malda at around 3 lakh and West Medinipur at more than 1.5 lakh.
The state government had already received assurance for central assistance in the matter and around Rs 1.265 crore had been allocated by the State Ministry of Rural Development under the VB-G RAM G Act scheme.
Source: IANS
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