Over 5.9 lakh people have registered their names for the 100-day work scheme in Bengal over the past 75 days. Such a huge number being attributed to unemployment faced by migrant labourers who returned to the state during the lockdown induced by the novel coronavirus.

“Inclusion of so many people in the scheme (MGNREGA) in such a short period is unusual. Generally, around one lakh new entries are registered in the scheme annually in the state. It appears many of the migrants have registered their names in the scheme after the lockdown started,” said a senior state government official.

One can include his or her name in the scheme in two ways. First, one can add his or her name in an existing job card with the family. Second, those who don’t have job cards in families can submit applications.

“We have issued a total of 2,88,907 new job cards and 2.5 lakh people have added their names in their existing family job cards in the past 75 days,” said an official.

Senior officials said more than 10 lakh migrant labourers had already come back to Bengal and inclusion of so many people in the scheme gave an impression that majority of the returnees had no option but to depend on the state government for employment.

“The chief minister has repeatedly asked officials to include returnees in the scheme wherever possible. The effort is reflected on the ground as so many people have wished to earn through the scheme after they were forced to come back leaving their jobs,” said a source.

While enrolling a huge number of people for the job scheme is one thing, giving employment to all the applicants is, however, easier said than done.

The sign of trouble was visible in Hooghly’s Goghat on Monday when a group of 25 migrant labourers launched a demonstration in front of Mandaran gram panchayat office, accusing the local body of not providing them with jobs under the MGNREGA despite repeated appeals.

The protesters alleged that they had repeatedly visited the office of the gram panchayat and filled up forms seeking jobs under the government scheme, but the officials expressed their inability to provide works for at least two weeks.

“I have no income since I returned from Hyderabad where I used to work at a jewellery shop. The government had announced that we would get jobs under government projects. As the panchayat is depriving us of the benefit, we had no other option but to launch the agitation,” said Sujan Gayen, a labourer at Goghat.

Adhir slams Centre

Behrampore Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury has condemned the exclusion of Bengal from a Rs 50,000 crore central scheme to provide jobs to migrants who returned home during the lockdown and asked Mamata Banerjee to reverse the decision.

Additional reporting by Alamgir Hossain