The state government will form nearly two lakh self-help groups for men in rural areas in a bid to generate job opportunities for those who lost their livelihood after the Centre froze MGNREGA funds, the move coming ahead of the panchayat polls scheduled for early next year.

Sources said the decision was made by chief minister Mamata Banerjee after she estimated that the lack of funds under the MGNREGA would have a massive impact on the livelihood of common people.

The West Bengal Swarojgar Corporation Limited has been assigned to form those groups with help of officials in districts.

“There are several people in rural areas who are skilled in making products like handloom sarees and bamboo items, or in fishing. The main problem for them is to gather capital, usually Rs 1-2 lakh at a time. Once the group is formed, the state will help them to connect with local banks from where they will get loans at very low interest. The move has been taken to make a larger section of people self-reliant,” said a senior state government official.

“It is not sure whether the MGNREGA funds that the Centre froze will be reinstated before the panchayat polls. The move is part of several initiatives by the state government to compensate those who lost their livelihoods following the absence of 100 days’ work,” he added.

Sources said the state has fixed a target for each district according to its size and its population under the poverty line. “As it is a loan, people would have some responsibility to repay the money,” said a source.

“The work to form groups has started. I visited several districts. As of now, we have readied 50,000 male self-help groups across Bengal,” said Tanmoy Ghosh, chairman of the West Bengal Swarojgar Corporation Limited.

The Central government stopped sending funds for the MGNREGA from this financial year alleging anomalies and embezzlement of funds by rural bodies. Mamata had then sent two letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to release the funds, citing damage to rural livelihoods.

The Centre on November 17 did release Rs 343.16 crore for Bengal to upgrade 144 rural roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, under which grants had also been frozen since April.

State government officials are hopeful that the Centre will release funds frozen under other schemes, including the MGNREGA, soon.

“If the MGNREGA resumes, it will give additional benefits to those who will work for the self-help groups. Even when the scheme runs, it is not that all the people get jobs for the entire year under it,” said an official.

Bengal has over 10 lakh self-help groups constituted by nearly 1.1 crore women who produce traditional handicrafts, food and saris in the styles of their own districts.

However, there have been no men’s self-help groups for quite some time in Bengal. Some senior officials said the state government had to stop forming men’s self help groups in 2012 and form groups involving women.

“Over a lakh men’s self help groups were formed in the early 2000s under a central government-sponsored scheme: Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY). But it was found that the male members were not repaying loans. Hence, the Bengal government stopped forming such men’s groups in 2012 and focused only on women’s SHGs,” said a senior official.

“It is not that the fresh drive will fail like in the past. But officials had to monitor those groups regularly, which is not a cake walk,” he added.