The Bengal government has decided to bring in five more schemes at Duare Sarkar (government on doorstep) camps to be held between August 16 and September 15 across the state in an attempt to expand the scale and scope of the initiative that many believe helped the Trinamul Congress beat anti-incumbency in the recent Assembly polls.

The government set up Duare Sarkar camps for the first time in 2020 to enable people to avail themselves of 13 welfare schemes if the benefits had failed to reach the applicants.

This year, people can avail themselves of 18 schemes at the camps.

“People can benefit from 18 schemes at 17,107 Duare Sarkar camps which will start from August 16. Eligible applicants would get benefits at the camps between September 24 and 30,” chief minister Mamata Banerjee said at Nabanna on Thursday.

She said a total of 32,830 camps had been organised during the first phase of Duare Sarkar in December last year.

This time, camps could not be set up at places that still remain marooned because of monsoon rains.

“The state would set up camps in these areas later,” said the chief minister.

According to the schedule of the outreach programme, five new schemes would be made available at the camps.

“The most sought-after scheme at the camps this year would be Lakshmir Bhandar, which offers Rs 500 to general caste women and Rs 1,000 to SC/ST women a month. This is going to be the centre of attraction as nearly 1.6 crore beneficiaries would try to register themselves at the camps,” said a senior official.

Among other new schemes, the camps would offer registration under the student credit cards, free of cost social security scheme, mutation and rectification of land records, opening of bank accounts and registration under the new Krishak Bandhu scheme that offers Rs 10,000 per an acre annually.

As registration would be done under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme at the camps, officials estimate that this year’s programme would surpass the total footfall of last year’s camps. Last year, a total of 2.75 crore footfall was recorded and 1.77 crore applications were submitted in the camps.

“This year, we are expecting 1.6 crore applications under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme. So, it is expected that this year’s outreach programme will be more successful,” said an official.

Sources in Trinamul said the state government’s target was to surpass last year’s Duare Sarkar programme considering the fact that the ruling party in Bengal was laying stress on 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

“The success of last year’s Duare Sarkar camps had helped us regain lost ground in many areas, particularly at villages. If this year’s camps are more successful by offering more schemes, it will help us in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” said a Trinamul insider.

Aware that the state has a history of irregularities in government schemes, the chief minister stressed that she would not tolerate any kind of irregularities at the camps.

“This gives a clear hint that the top brass of the government is very sensitive about delivering through the camps. This is why the entire administration would be busy in making the programme successful for the next one month or so,” said a bureaucrat.