Kolkata, Aug 25 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday asked top officials to compile a complete list of migrant workers, who returned home due to COVID-19 pandemic, and are working under 100-day employment generation programme of the government.

Participating in a virtual meeting with senior officials of six districts from the state secretariat here, Banerjee referred to the issue of enrolling returnee labourers, who are interested, under the scheme.

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Though the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) is a Central rural employment scheme which provides up to 100 days of unskilled manual work in a financial year to every household in rural areas as per demand, the state government implements it.

"I know there are 20,000 migrant labourers employed in such projects in Birbhum, 17,000 in Purba Bardhaman and likewise. But there should be a total consolidated figure of the entire state. Please prepare such a list. Please enrol those who are interested," she told Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay. Banerjee also asked the officials to find out if anyone affected by cyclone Amphan is yet to receive compensation provided by the state government. The process of giving compensation should be completed within a week and not a single case should be left out, she said.

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The chief minister said, common people, who are beneficiaries of certain state-sponsored social welfare projects, will have the amount transferred to their bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) very soon.

Urging the officials to ensure that farmers are not affected due to accumulation of rain water on farmlands, she said, the government has already distributed 12 lakh Kisan Credit Card among farmers while 8 lakh remained to be handed over to the cultivators who will get financial benefit for their crop damage.

A farmer should have minimum one acre of land to be covered under the scheme. Twenty lakh people have got houses under 'Bangla Awas Yojana', which was fast-tracked in several districts despite the COVID-19 situation, the chief minister said. However, more people should be brought under the scheme, Banerjee said.

The officials were asked to expedite implementation of pioneering projects like 'Rupashree Prakalpa', she said.

As many as 80,000 pending applications for the scheme needed to be cleared, the chief minister said.

'Rupashree Prakalpa' is a state government initiative that provides a one-time financial grant of Rs 25,000 for economically stressed families at the time of their daughters marriages.

She said, 2,800 'Bangla Sahayata Kendras' (Assistance Centres) in BDO and SDO offices and libraries in the state should help people by proving them information about social security projects of the government.

Banerjee laid stress on combating vector-borne diseases (like dengue) which are usually reported between August and October, and asked officials to take measures to prevent water logging and clearing waste from construction sites.

Expressing unhappiness over some districts not reaching the 'Sadak Yojana' target, Banerjee said, COVID-19 pandemic cannot be cited as an excuse for slow pace of work.

"If the zilla parishad is not able to repair the road, they must inform the district magistrate. Even lanes, should not be left unrepaired," she said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)