West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Monday said that “despite financial constraints and non-receipt of Central funds”, the TMC government in the state “has not backed out from its commitment to ensuring employment and housing for our rural brethren”.
In his inaugural address to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly’s Budget Session, the Governor said the TMC government, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, introduced schemes like Karmashree, which guarantees employment, and Banglar Bari (Gramin), a rural housing scheme, which were funded entirely through its own resources in the absence of central funds.
The Mamata Banerjee government has been at loggerheads with the Centre over non-disbursal on funds for several welfare schemes, such as MGNREGA and PM Awas Yojana. While the TMC alleges that the BJP government at the Centre blocked the state’s share of funds for the schemes due to political vendetta, the BJP claims that corruption in the implementation of the scheme in the state has led to the Centre withholding funds to the state.
In his speech, the Governor said the state government’s “efforts towards women’s development and empowerment” was one of its “most important priorities”.
“About one-third of our total expenditure is made on the development and empowerment of women. Under the able guidance of my chief minister, the state government has taken a number of unique initiatives towards women empowerment like Lakshmir Bhandar, Kanyashree, and Rupashree to name a few,” Bose said.
Minister of State for Finance Chandrima Bhattacharya will present the Budget for 2025-26 in the Assembly on Wednesday.
Elaborating on the state’s measures under these schemes, the Governor said: “With effect from April 1, 2024, the monthly benefit under Lakshmir Bhandar has been raised from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 for women under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories and from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 for women from other categories. 2.21 crore women are (benefitting from the scheme)… The state has ensured life-long financial benefits by the automatic inclusion of a Lakshmir Bhandar beneficiary in the old age pension scheme upon attaining the age of 60. The number of beneficiaries under the internationally acclaimed Kanyashree Prakalpa has touched 92 lakh. In the current financial year, 2.08 lakh beneficiaries have been covered under Rupashree Prakalpa.”
Notably, Governor Bose had last year refused to read out the state government’s prepared speech during the inauguration of the Budget Session. However, this year, Bose agreed to read the speech prepared by the state government without any objection.
The Governor also called the recently concluded 8th Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), organised by the TMC government to woo investors, an “overwhelming success”.
“With the participation of the captains of industries and business delegates from India and abroad, including 20 partner countries, as many as 212 MoUs and LOIs have been signed and investment proposals to the tune of Rs 4,40,595 crore have been received. Upon implementation, this will lead to enhanced economic activity in the state and create more employment opportunities for the youths of Bengal,” the Governor said.
“Under the visionary leadership of my Chief Minister, the state of West Bengal has made significant progress in economic growth and other financial parameters over the past 13 years,” he said.
“The state government has taken numerous initiatives over the past 13 years to benefit the minority population, focusing on education, modernisation of madrasas, employment generation, skill development, and sustainable livelihoods,” he added.
The Governor, in his speech, also said the state remained peaceful with no law and order situation. “I am very proud that all the major festivals, including Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Diwali… Gangasagar Mela and others, have been celebrated peacefully and gracefully.”
The equation between the Raj Bhawan and the TMC government in the state had gone through several ups and downs. Signs of thaw began to surface in December 2024 when the Governor conducted the swearing-in of six TMC MLAs. The ceremony was held in the Vidhan Sabha and was attended by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Speaker Biman Banerjee.
Bose was appointed as the Governor of West Bengal in November 2022. Over the past three years, he has had several confrontations with the state government. The Governor has openly criticised the functioning of the state government under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, particularly regarding the law and order situation.
The relationship between Governor Bose and the TMC government hit a low in May 2024 when a Raj Bhavan employee accused Bose of sexually assaulting her. Following this, the TMC leadership, including the CM, criticised the Governor. The CM also claimed that women told her that they did not feel safe visiting Raj Bhavan. In response, the Governor filed a defamation case against the chief minister in the High Court.