Mamata Banerjee on Thursday held a meeting to take stock of several initiatives that her government undertook in the past few years to address the problem of unemployment in Bengal before announcing some new measures to create jobs.

The chief minister had promised to create jobs ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls but the problem not only persisted but also aggravated following the forced homecoming of lakhs of migrant workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sources in the labour department said according to a report of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, a leading business information company, the unemployment rate in Bengal was 5.5 per cent in December, 2022. Although the rate was much lower than the country’s 8.3 per cent and the rate in many major states, economists think the figure does not capture the real picture.

“Some estimates suggest that more than 15 lakh people have migrated to other states in search of jobs in recent months. The situation in rural Bengal has turned really bad after the 100-day rural job scheme came to a halt following a pause on the flow of funds from the Centre,” said a bureaucrat.

During the meeting, the chief minister announced some initiatives and identified some areas where the creation of jobs was possible. Mamata’s initiatives clearly hint that she is worried about the situation ahead of the rural polls and next year’s Lok Sabha polls.

The Telegraph takes a closer look at the initiatives rolled out by the chief minister at the meeting.

Free-hold land

The chief minister announced that her government would soon give free-hold land to industries as an incentive to take up projects.

“This will allow setting up industries on a part of the land and you can use the remaining portion of the land for other purposes. For this, you have to pay the market rate of the land. Of course, there will be some concessions,” Mamata said at the meeting, which was attended by representatives of various industry bodies.

Senior government officials said the proposal might be lucrative for the investors as they would not have to seek permission from the statefor the use of land other than setting up industries or incase they wanted to mortgage it. IT majors like Wipro and Infosys were allotted land on the same condition.

“It is not yet finalised but will be finalised soon. I only want the creation of jobs,” said the chief minister.

Nursing schools

The chief minister has invited the companies that run hospitals in Bengal to start nursing schools in the state as part of a plan to create a pool of trained nurses.

“You can train the nurses in your school and employ them in your hospitals. I know that you often face a shortage of nurses,” she said.

Sources in the administration said the chief minister had rightly pointed out an area where many more youths from Bengal could be engaged.

“It has been seen that nurses from northeastern states and southern states are employed in Bengal’s private hospitals. If the private hospitals can start nursing schools, Bengal’s youths can be trained and employed,” said an official.

A city-based doctor, however, said the quality of the nursing schools should be on a par with the best in the country to ensure that the pass-outs got employment opportunities.

Skill augmentation

The chief minister proposed a tie-up with large industrial houses to create a pool of workers who can be recruited for their ventures.

“I have come to know that contractors take workers from the state to work for companies in different states. This helps the contractors. I want companies to place their requirements before the government and the government will help them. This will help us keep track of workers and it will help the company, too,” said Mamata.

A representative of L&T, who was present at the meeting, immediately accepted the proposal. The chief minister asked the chief secretary to develop a suitable model for it.

Sources said companies like L&T required more than 1 lakh unskilled and semi-skilled labour every year. If the government inks a deal with the company, it will benefit the workers in the state.

Recruitment drive

Mamata asked state government officials to complete all pending recruitments in the government — which has been the major source of employment in Bengal — within the next three months.

“I want all pending recruitments to be completed within three months,” she said.

The sources have said 3,500 posts are being filled up in police at present. There are teachers’ vacancies at state-aided schools but those are currently awaiting the court’s nod.

“This is clear that the chief minister is eyeing rural polls and next year’s Lok Sabha polls while issuing orders to complete the recruitments within the next three months,” said a source.