West Bengal renames rural housing scheme, releases ₹6,000 crore to 10 lakh beneficiaries
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday announced that the State Cabinet has renamed the rural housing scheme ‘Banglar Bari’ as ‘Paschim Banga Awas’ and released the final instalment of financial assistance to more than 10 lakh beneficiaries. The decision was taken at a meeting of the State Cabinet held earlier in the day.
Launching the transfer of the second and final tranche of funds, Mr. Adhikari said 10,20,379 beneficiaries received ₹60,000 each, involving a total outlay of over ₹6,000 crore. Under the scheme, each beneficiary receives a total assistance of ₹1.20 lakh in two instalments for the construction of a house. The final instalment completes the assistance for those who had already received the first tranche.
The Chief Minister said the first instalment of funds would be released to several lakh new beneficiaries immediately after the Durga Puja festival in October. He urged eligible families to apply under the renamed scheme, asserting, “We will not see caste, creed or religion. Only the guidelines will be adhered to, ensuring genuine applicants get the benefit.”
The current beneficiaries are among the 18 lakh families identified under the housing scheme during the previous government led by the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The scheme, intended for the rural poor, had been pending for the past few years, according to the present administration. The previous government had announced the scheme in 2024, but its implementation was stalled after the Centre halted funds.
The housing scheme was initially announced by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in 2024. This was two years after the Centre stopped funding the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Grameen) (PMAY-G) in West Bengal. The central government cited allegations of large-scale corruption in the scheme’s implementation and the non-submission of utilisation certificates by the then TMC government as reasons for suspending funds for PMAY-G and several other projects.
PMAY-G is a centrally sponsored scheme launched by the Government of India in 2016 to provide pucca houses to all rural households without a house. The scheme, which is part of the ‘Housing for All’ mission, has been implemented in various states. However, funding to West Bengal was suspended following the allegations and the non-submission of utilisation certificates. In response, the then state government announced its own housing scheme for the rural poor in 2024, which has now been renamed ‘Paschim Banga Awas’ by the present administration.
The state government has clarified that the renaming does not change the core features of the scheme, including the assistance amount of ₹1.20 lakh per beneficiary. The government has promised transparency in the selection of beneficiaries and adherence to the scheme’s guidelines. The next batch of applications is expected to be processed after the Durga Puja festival, with the first instalment to be released to new beneficiaries thereafter.
This development comes as the state government seeks to address the housing needs of the rural population. The scheme is expected to benefit a large number of families who were identified in earlier surveys but had not received assistance due to the funding suspension. The state government has also indicated that the list of eligible beneficiaries will be updated through a fresh survey, if necessary, to ensure that those in genuine need are covered.
