West Bengal Panchayat Minister Dilip Ghosh has said the state is considering allowing contractual panchayat workers to continue in service until the age of 60, along with improved remuneration and medical benefits, under a proposal sent to the Finance Department.
Ghosh made the statement at a state-level general meeting of Gram Rojgar Sahayaks at the Vidyasagar Hall of Barasat municipality on Sunday. He said the proposal covers workers who have been engaged in panchayat-related work for more than a decade and that discussions had taken place with department secretaries, commissioners and other officials.
“You have been working for 10-15 years. Work is progressing on arrangements to ensure that you receive appropriate respect, remuneration and medical facilities, and can continue working until at least the age of 60,” Ghosh said, according to the report by Sangbad Pratidin – Bengal.
The minister said approximately one lakh contractual workers are employed at different levels of the panchayat department. The report did not specify the proposed terms of service, the eligibility criteria, the nature of the medical coverage or whether the Finance Department has approved the proposal. The statement therefore indicates a policy proposal under consideration rather than a notified change in employment conditions.
Ghosh also outlined employment and rural development targets for the department. He said the panchayat department has the authority to spend up to Rs 14,200 crore and is targeting the creation of 30 crore person-days of work by next April. The department is currently generating slightly more than one lakh person-days a day, with a target of five lakh person-days by the end of October and 15 lakh during November and December, according to the report.
The minister said 54.5 lakh houses had been identified under Awas Plus. The process of recovering funds from around 12,500 ineligible beneficiaries was also under way, he said. The report did not provide the total amount involved or details of the verification process used to identify the beneficiaries.
Other measures mentioned at the meeting included the formation of one lakh new self-help groups. Existing groups could receive loans of up to Rs 3.5 lakh, while bank-linked lending of around Rs 40,000 crore was also discussed. Ghosh said projects worth crores of rupees would be taken up to improve infrastructure at schools, Integrated Child Development Services centres, health centres, panchayat offices and police stations.
The minister also referred to a proposed “Hatinala” project to prevent elephant movement into inhabited areas in Junglemahal. He warned that strict action would be taken if funds allocated for pond restoration were misused, saying those responsible could face imprisonment.
The proposal to extend work opportunities for long-serving contractual workers now depends on the Finance Department’s consideration and any subsequent government order. No implementation date or final framework for the employment, remuneration and medical-benefit measures was announced in the report.