The Mamata Banerjee government is working on a detailed plan to generate 35 lakh employment opportunities over the next three years with a move by the Trinamul Congress to highlight the thrust on the job creation in the campaign for the 2021 Assembly polls.
“The chief minister is laying special emphasis on creating employment opportunities. The areas have been identified and now, work is on to prepare a fool-proof model to ensure that jobs are created on the ground,” a senior government official said.
Sources said Mamata Banerjee would detail the schemes during her election campaign to let people know what her government was doing to create 35 lakh jobs in the next three years.
The chief minister, a source said, has realised that the government can tackle the unemployment problem by offering jobs in the government or quasi-government sector only to a certain extent as there is a limit to salary bills that it can foot.
“Employment is going to be the most important issue in the next Assembly polls as Covid-19 has cut down job opportunities in the country. The chief minister thinks if her party will be able to show a path for employment opportunities, it would have an advantage,” said a Trinamul insider.
According to the officer, the cornerstone of the employment drive is going to be the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME). “Our assessment suggests that about 15 lakh employment opportunities could be created in the MSME sector while it is possible to generate 5 lakh jobs in the IT sector in the post-pandemic period,” said the source.
The sources said it had been assumed that the MSME sector could see a rise in the next three years considering the fact that Covid had brought a behavioural change to a large number of people.
“It is assumed people will continue to use masks, hand sanitisers or surface sanitisers. The MSME sector has already used the opportunity and in the near future, demand of personal protective kits and several other hygiene products like soaps, detergents and hand washes would be rising,” said an official.
Similarly, in the post-pandemic period, use of information technology tools would be used in abundance as people would prefer to go the digital way. “This will help us draw investment to the IT sector. We are ready with required infrastructure to accommodate investments in this sector,” said a source.
The state government has also identified that generation of 2 lakh employment opportunities is possible in the handloom sector and 10 lakh jobs could be created in the agro business clusters.
“The government is buying handloom products in bulk. This will continue in the next few years to help the sector grow,” said a source.
In case of agro business clusters, it has been found that the state has immense potential as Bengal is now aiming to increase the production of pulses and oil seeds, which always help to increase downstream industries in the states where these are produced.
Moreover, the government has decided to focus on the Matir Srishti projects, which aim to develop horticulture, fisheries and poultry in the barren areas of the Jungle Mahal and Birbhum, as they are likely to create 3 lakh employment opportunities.
While there is little doubt a comprehensive plan and its roll-out will help the ruling party, implementing the idea will be easier said than done.
“The plan has to be accompanied by creating the right infrastructure so that willing investors are encouraged to pump in money. In that case, the government has to play the role of a facilitator by extending loans, offering incentives and helping the process through creation of training facilities for the potential employees,” said the head of a city-based chamber of commerce.
