In West Bengal, the Cabinet led by Chief Minister Subhendu Adhikari has decided to phase out religion-based assistance schemes running under the Madrassa Department and Information and Cultural Department. Besides, financial assistance of Rs 3,000 has also been approved for women. Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul gave this information to the media after the second cabinet meeting.
On Monday (May 18), the Cabinet decided to close down religion-based assistance schemes operated under the Madrassa Department and the Information and Cultural Department. However, the currently ongoing projects will continue till the end of this month and after that they will be gradually closed.
Along with this, the government has also approved ‘Annapurna Yojana’, under which as per the promise of BJP’s election manifesto, women will be given assistance of Rs 3,000 from June 1. Women already availing benefits under the Lakshmi Bhandar Scheme will be automatically included in the scheme, while a new portal will be launched for women not included in the current scheme.
The government has also announced free bus travel for women across the state from June 1.
On Monday, Subhendu Adhikari held his first Janata Darbar after assuming office and heard the demands and complaints of the people at the BJP office in Salt Lake. Adhikari, who was sworn in as the state’s first BJP chief minister on May 9, has decided to hold such public listening sessions regularly, a party leader said. Many people including students participated in this dialogue with the Chief Minister.
The development comes at a time when the West Bengal BJP also highlighted key decisions taken and steps taken by the state’s “double engine” government in the first week of its rule from May 9 to May 16. In a post on ‘X’, West Bengal BJP said that many major decisions and effective steps have been taken in the very first week of the new government. “What West Bengal could not achieve in 15 years under TMC leadership, the double engine government has started showing in its very first week. This is the new West Bengal and this is the pace of real governance,” the party said.
With Shubhendu Adhikari holding the first Janata Darbar and the BJP presenting the achievements of the first week of the government, the party has indicated that public hearings and prompt administrative action will be an important part of its political message.
The government has also decided that government aid given to groups based on religious classification will be stopped from June. The schemes running on religious lines through the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs and the Department of Minority Affairs and Madrassa Education will continue till the end of this month, after which they will be scrapped. A separate notification will be issued for this.
It is noteworthy that in 2012, the then state government had announced monthly honorarium for the Imams of West Bengal. Under this scheme, registered Imams were given Rs 2,500 every month, so that financially weak religious leaders could be provided assistance.
Soon after, a similar financial assistance scheme was launched for muezzins who call people to prayers in mosques. Both these schemes were financed by the Minority Welfare Department. Subsequently in 2020, the then state government introduced a similar allowance for Hindu priests. Under the scheme, registered priests were given a monthly honorarium, which was initially fixed at Rs 1,000 and was later increased to Rs 2,000 ahead of the 2026 assembly elections.
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