CM meets Union Minister Shivraj Chouhan Centre approves one lakh rural houses, allocates Rs 1,000-cr for 2400 km roads

3 min readKolkataJul 15, 2026 05:15 AM IST

The Centre has allocated Rs 1000 crore for laying 2400 km of rural roads in the state under the PM Gram Sadak Yojna and sanctioned the construction of one lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Tuesday.

The state has identified and approved 2.56 crore job card holders for 125 days of guaranteed work under the VB-G RAM G scheme and has received the Centre’s in-principle nod to process and approve additional applications, he added.

Addressing a joint press conference after a meeting with Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the state secretariat Nabanna, Adhikari said, “The Centre has released funds for one lakh houses in Bengal under the PM Awaas Yojana. Rs 1000 crore have been allocated under the Gram Sadak Yojana for laying 2,400 kilometers of rural roads. The government is also working to secure the livelihood of marginalised people. In Bengal, 2.56 crore people have been identified under the 125-day work program, unskilled labour will get Rs 300, semi skilled Rs 450 and for skilled Rs 600.”

Adhikari announced that four districts of Bengal, Darjeeling, Alipurduar, Jhargram and Purulia, have been brought under the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana, an umbrella agricultural mission designed to transform 100 underperforming districts in India.

“We now have the Centre’s approval for setting up four agricultural training and research units across the state, including one in Chinsurah for rice and another in Malda for mangoes, and an upfront allocation of Rs 100 crores for them,” Adhikari further said.

Meanwhile, Chouhan said that the Rural Welfare Ministry has sanctioned Rs 8,508 crore for West Bengal till March 31, 2027, under the rural job scheme VB-G RAM G. The total outlay will be over Rs 12,064 crore with contribution from the state government.

Chouhan added that a collaborative effort from experts of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and state universities was being attempted to prepare an agricultural roadmap for the state, the first presentation of which was made at Tuesday’s meeting.

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“The project will lay out suggestions for choice of crops and their improved yield, taking into consideration the state’s agro-climatic condition, nature of soil and other factors,” Chouhan said.

“An MoU was signed to make Bengal the hub of seed development in the whole of eastern India,” Chouhan said, while highlighting that seeds of two of the state’s staple crops, jute and potato, are being brought from outside.

Hitting out at the previous Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government, Chouhan said, “My heart ached, and my soul wept when I visited Bengal during the previous regime whose non-cooperation with the Centre had deprived the people of sanctioned benefits worth Rs 82,492 crore, the work for which had begun long before but never got completed. I am happy that under the Suvendu Adhikari government, those obstacles have now been removed and Bengal’s development process can now be fast-tracked.”

Stressing women empowerment, Chouhan said, “For women self-help groups, a bank loan of Rs 235 crore and Rs 50 crore for other investments has been sanctioned.”

Tanusree Bose is a dedicated journalist reporting for The Indian Express from Kolkata. Her work focuses sharply on the complex administrative, political, and judicial developments across West Bengal, establishing her as an authoritative voice in regional news coverage.
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