Suvendu government ends West Bengal's religion-based schemes in 2nd cabinet meet

The West Bengal cabinet approved Rs 3,000 assistance for women, free bus travel, and changes to existing schemes. It said religion-based assistance programmes under two departments will continue this month before being phased out.

In Short

• The second cabinet meeting cleared major welfare and policy decisions
• Annapurna Yojana will give eligible women Rs 3,000 assistance from June 1
• Lakshmi Bhandar beneficiaries will be included automatically, while others use a portal

The West Bengal cabinet has approved Rs 3,000 assistance for women and decided to phase out religion-based assistance schemes under the Madrasa Department, and the Information & Cultural Department, Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul said while briefing the media after the second cabinet meeting.

The cabinet on Monday decided to discontinue religion-based assistance schemes under the Madrasa Department and the Information & Cultural Department, while stating that ongoing projects will continue until the end of the month before being phased out.

Although Paul did not go into specifics about the order, the West Bengal government earlier provided Rs 3,000 to the Imams (Muslim clerics) and Rs 2,000 to purohits (Hindu Priests). The stipend for the imams was launched in 2012, a year after Mamata Banerjee assumed power in Bengal, and the financial assistance for the Hindu priests started in September 2020, a few months after the country was hit by the COVID-19 lockdown.

It also approved the “Annapurna Yojana,” under which Rs 3,000 assistance will be provided to women from June 1, as promised in the BJP manifesto. Women already receiving benefits under the Lakshmi Bhandar will automatically be included, while a new portal will be launched to assist those not covered under the existing scheme.

The government further approved free bus travel for women across the state starting June 1.

On Monday, Suvendu also conducted his first janata darbar after taking office, listening to people’s demands and grievances at a BJP office in Salt Lake. A party leader told news agency PTI that Adhikari, who was sworn in as the state’s first BJP chief minister on May 9, has decided to hold such public hearing sessions regularly.

Several people, including students, took part in the interaction with the chief minister at the party office. The development came as the West Bengal BJP also highlighted what it described as key decisions and steps taken by the state’s “double engine” government during its first week in office, from May 9 to May 16.

According to the party leader, the janata darbar format will now be a regular feature under Adhikari’s tenure, reported PTI. The chief minister heard a range of representations from those who attended the session at the Salt Lake office.

Such public grievance meetings have also been held in other states. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath regularly organises janata darbars, while former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had also held similar people’s hearings during his time in office.

In a post on X, the West Bengal BJP said several major decisions and actions had been taken in the first week of the new government. “What West Bengal under TMC couldn’t deliver in 15 years, the Double Engine Government has started showing in its very first week. This is the new West Bengal and the speed of real governance,” the party said.

With Adhikari holding his first janata darbar and the BJP projecting the government’s first-week record, the party signalled that public hearings and claims of early administrative action would form part of its messaging in the state.

- Ends