‘Over 1L workers benefit under ‘Karmashree’ in S Dinajpur so far’

BALURGHAT: The ‘Karmashree’ project, initiated by the South Dinajpur district administration, has provided employment to over one lakh workers in the district so far. Nearly 50,000 workdays have been created under the scheme.

Since the end of 2024, job cards have been made mandatory for contractor-hired labourers as well. However, both government and private projects often source workers from a ‘labour pool,’ where many workers do not possess job cards. Some contractors are reportedly submitting labour hiring reports on plain paper instead of the prescribed forms.

A local contractor from Balurghat stated: “Sometimes, urgent projects require immediate labour and finding only job card holders in such cases delays work completion.”

Officials explained that job card holders apply for work at the Panchayat or block level and their requests are forwarded to the district administration. If a contractor requests workers, the administration checks if there are applicants from the same block. If matched, the requests are sent back to the block office, linking workers with the contractor. However, this process is often considered too complex and lacks awareness, resulting in fewer applications. Many argue that even before ‘Karmashree,’ labourers found work through contractors.

The ‘Karmashree’ scheme, introduced a few years ago under the initiative of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, aims to ensure 50 days of employment.

Officials acknowledge that South Dinajpur lags by about 10 per cent compared to the state average in job security, though they claim it is close to the target.

When asked about simplifying the application process, District Magistrate Bijin Krishna stated: “We must operate within government regulations. However, we are working on increasing awareness to bring more workers under the scheme.”