West Bengal has asked the Centre to raise the daily wage for unskilled workers under the VB-G RAM G rural employment scheme from Rs 300 to Rs 407, citing low participation and the need to provide greater financial support to rural job seekers.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said he had written to Union rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan seeking an increase in the wage. While Adhikari referred publicly to a request for Rs 400 a day, his letter specified Rs 407, which would raise the current daily payment by Rs 107.
The Union rural development ministry notified a uniform interim base wage of Rs 300 for the scheme from July 1. The rate currently remains applicable in Bengal and will not change unless the Centre approves the state’s request.
In his letter, Adhikari asked the Centre to consider Bengal’s prevailing minimum wages, the rising cost of living and wage rates notified in other states while reviewing the payment. Only three states currently pay more than Rs 400 a day under the scheme: Haryana at Rs 409, Goa at Rs 406 and Kerala at Rs 401.
A senior state official said the letter referred to more than 2.3 crore job seekers in Bengal and argued that a higher wage would provide financial relief and encourage more rural workers to enrol. The state has reported low participation since the VB-G RAM G programme was introduced in Bengal in July.
Under the VB-G RAM G Act, wages are calculated by indexing state-specific baseline rates to rural inflation through the consumer price index for agricultural labourers. The current uniform interim floor means that Bengal’s proposed rate would require a decision by the Centre rather than an automatic revision based on the state’s request.
Officials cited the prolonged suspension of the earlier MGNREGA programme in Bengal as one reason for the reduced participation. The Centre suspended the scheme in the state for nearly four years, citing implementation irregularities, according to a senior official quoted in the report. The official said the interruption pushed many rural workers to migrate to other states for employment and that many had not returned.
The official also identified the prolonged absence of several gram panchayat pradhans after the assembly election results as a further administrative hurdle. The absence of local elected functionaries has affected the implementation environment for the rural employment programme, the official said.
Adhikari also raised the wage issue with Chouhan during a brief meeting in Bhopal on Thursday, where he had travelled to attend a condolence programme following the death of Chouhan’s mother. The state government’s request now awaits the Centre’s response.
Adhikari claimed that around 10 lakh workdays were being created in Bengal every day and expressed confidence that the state would meet the Centre’s target of 22 crore workdays ahead of schedule. The proposed wage revision and the state’s workday performance will depend on the Centre’s decision and the scheme’s continuing implementation through local administrative institutions.
