Govt brings 1 crore people under social security scheme

The state government has brought around 1 crore workers from unorganised sectors under the social security scheme — Samajik Surakshya Yojana — in the past six years, said state Labour minister, Moloy Ghatak.

The minister further added that these 1 crore people will be given educational benefits for their children, support for marriage of their two daughters, health cards and other benefits. He said this is a scheme that has not been introduced in any other state apart from Bengal and would be a model in giving social security to workers from unorganised sectors before other states take the same route in the country.

Five schemes were introduced in 2000 to bring the people involved in different unorganised sectors under social security coverage. Interestingly, in 11 long years, the erstwhile Left Front government had managed to provide benefits worth Rs 9 crore to the workers in unemployed sectors and brought only 23 lakh people under social security schemes.

The Labour department of the Mamata Banerjee government has achieved a milestone by providing benefits worth Rs 880 crore till March 2017. In April 2017, the state government has merged all the five schemes to one and named it Samajik Suraksha Yojana. The convergence of the schemes has benefitted the people from different unorganised sectors and self employed youth, said Ghatak adding that total 4 crore people are being benefitted with 1 crore coming under the scheme as on an average there are four family members in each of the houses.

Samajik Suraksha Yojana was introduced converging State Assistance Schemefor Provident Fund for Unorganised Sector, West Bengal Unorganised Sector Workers' Health Security Scheme, Social Security Scheme for Construction Workers, West Bengal Transport Workers' Social Security Scheme and West Bengal Bidi Workers' Welfare Scheme.

In the programme at Utsav Mancha in Kankurgachi on Tuesday in which the state Self Help Group minister Sadhan Pande was also present, benefits worth Rs 2,12,48,584 was distributed among as many as 1,669 beneficiaries.

Pande said that members of Self Help Groups (SHGs) get different insurance facilities only by depositing Rs 25 per month. He further said that the Chief Minister will also be invited to the newly constructed Utsav Mancha.