From Class X passouts to those with a Master’s degree in chemistry, all stood in long serpentine queues at the enrollment camps set up by the TMC government in West Bengal for its newly announced Banglar Yuvasathi – a monthly cash allowance scheme for educated, jobless youth in the state that was announced in this year’s interim Budget.
Under the scheme, the launch of which was advanced to April 1 by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently, any jobless youth who has passed the Madhyamik (Class 10 state board) exams and is aged between 21 and 40 years will receive a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 for a maximum period of five years.
“There are no permanent jobs here in West Bengal. I have applied for jobs in so many places, but nothing has materialised so far. I am dependent on my family. With this money, at least I will be able to meet my expenses until I get a job,” said 29-year-old Anupam Jana, who has done post-graduation and has been looking for a job for the last three years, at the enrollment camp in Haldia.
The enrollment camps, set up in all the 294 Assembly constituencies, will continue till February 26. It will function from 10 am to 5 pm every day. The camps are also receiving applications for the ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ direct benefit transfer scheme for women, and Krishak Bandhu and farm labourer allowance initiatives launched this year.
At Namkhana camp in South 24 Parganas district, Asha Rani was waiting for her turn, carrying her two-year-old son. “I am a Madhyamik (class X state board) passout. I was married off by my parents after I completed my 10th. I have now started studying again. So, I am applying as this will help me pay for my studies and not put much financial pressure on my in-laws,” Rani said.
College goer Anita Sarkar, 21, from Bhowanipore, also said that the money from the scheme would help her buy books for competitive examinations.
At another camp in Ranaghat in Nadia district, 31-year-old Dipak Kundu had also lined up to enroll himself in the scheme. “I have applied for the SSC Group C and Group D examination. With the money from this scheme, I can pay for the fees for other competitive examinations also,” said Kundu.
However, at the same camp, Ritabrata Dutta, who had also come to collect enrollment forms for the scheme, was critical of the scheme. “What will happen with Rs 1500 a month? Instead, the government would have given us jobs or brought industries to the state,” said Dutta, who said he did BEd and has been looking for a government job for the past six years.
Binapani Devi, an elderly woman in Rampurhat in Birbhum district, said she was collecting the form for her son, who has gone out of the state in search of a job. “My son asked me to collect the form on his behalf. Even getting Rs 1,500 will provide him some succour from the acute financial crunch. But yes, a job is more preferable than an unemployment allowance,” PTI quoted the woman as saying.
The scheme, which was initially planned to be rolled out from August 15, was recently advanced by the chief minister to April 1. While advancing the launch of the scheme, the chief minister had said that beneficiaries of the scheme would continue to be eligible for existing scholarships. They will be eligible for any scholarship, Aikyasree, Medhasree, smart card schemes like ‘Sikhasree’, and the Swami Vivekananda merit-cum-scholarship.
She, however, added that those who are already receiving benefits under other state government welfare schemes, apart from the scholarships, would not be eligible for the ‘Yuvasathi’ scheme.
Meanwhile, there were reports of minor trouble at a camp in Malda’s Chanchal over no separate queues for men and women. Police brought the situation under control. “It is the first day (of the camp. So, there was a bit of an issue. But now everything is under control,” said local TMC MLA Nihar Ranjan Ghosh, who was at the camp.
The Opposition BJP criticised the scheme, saying the long queues at the enrollment camps reflected the “job crisis” in the state.
“The queues show clearly what is the joblessness situation in the state. So many educated youths are unemployed. What the TMC has done in the last 15 years is clearly seen today. People want jobs, not such cash doles. This is an election grant,” senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha said.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, questioned the need for holding physical camps instead of filling the form online. “Why is this government not allowing online applications?” asked Adhikari, claiming that the cash allowance scheme would “face a similar fate” as that of a previous similar initiative launched by the TMC government in the state.
“This too will face a similar fate as that of the previous scheme, as the state government doesn’t have resources… The state government has deliberately closed job creation channels to avoid political and legal risks,” Adhikari added.
Minister of State for Finance Chandrima Bhattacharya, who had announced the scheme in this year’s interim Budget and had said that Rs 5,000 crore will be allotted for the scheme in the next full-fledged Budget, dismissed the BJP’s charge.
“We don’t announce any initiative to stop it. (Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee maintains all schemes in accordance with its limited resources despite the Centre having blocked the state’s dues,” the TMC minister said.
Dismissing the BJP’s criticism, the TMC accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of failing to generate sufficient employment and asserted that the Mamata government remained committed to supporting job seekers.
“The highest unemployment happened in the Modi government. In the Mamata Banerjee government, industries are coming to the state. Our government has generated employment, and for those who are unemployed, the chief minister is standing by them and giving them a moral boost,” TMC spokesperson Arup Chakraborty said.
“Even in first-world countries, there are unemployment grants. So, instead of encouraging the youths, the BJP is making a mockery of the youths instead of standing by them,” the TMC leader said.