Former NCLP workers left in limbo, appeal to CM for rehabilitation
The Statesman | 29 April 2025
Three years after being displaced from their roles under the National Child Labour Project (NCLP), a group of 32 workers from various districts in West Bengal have sent a heartfelt appeal to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, seeking immediate intervention for their rehabilitation.
In a detailed letter, Mahasweta Mitra, representing the workers, expressed gratitude for the government’s initial assurances but conveyed deep concern over the lack of follow-through by the district administrations. The workers, who were initially 56 in number, served between 15 and 20 years under the NCLP, an initiative directly overseen by the offices of district magistrates.
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Apart from their core duties related to eradicating child labour and promoting education, they were routinely engaged in critical government programmes — including pandemic management during Covid-19, election duties, cyclone Amphan relief efforts, and major social welfare drives like Duare Sarkar and Lakshmir Bhandar.
Despite repeated instructions from the state’s labour department — first through a memo dated 14 December 2022 (Memo No. I/348170/2022/LABR-25033(13)/1/2021-LWMW), and later on 1 November 2023 — mandating their absorption into suitable government departments, no substantive action has been taken at the district level.
“The labour department sought full documentation regarding our appointments and service history, and we, in collaboration with the district administrations, duly submitted all required records,” the letter notes. “Yet, as time drags on, our financial hardship deepens. Many among us have small children, aged parents, disabled dependents, and no alternative source of income.”
Describing their current plight as “unbearable” and “dire,” the workers have urged the chief minister to exercise her humanitarian approach and facilitate their immediate rehabilitation under the district administrations. The letter also points to the critical need for urgent policy action to prevent long-serving frontline workers from slipping into poverty and destitution due to bureaucratic inertia.
As of now, no official statement has been released by the labour department or the district magistrates regarding the delay in implementation.