West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday (August 18) launched a new scheme to support migrant workers who return to the State after facing harassment in other parts of the country.

The scheme, named Shramashree, will provide a monthly stipend of ₹5,000 to such workers for up to one year, or until they find a job.

“All 22,40,000 workers who are outside Bengal will get the benefits of Shramshree. Those who have not registered their names will be able to register their names,” Ms. Banerjee said at the State Secretariat.

Benefits under the scheme

Apart from the stipend, migrant workers and their families will also get access to other State government schemes such as ration cards and the Swastha Sathi free healthcare card.

The Chief Minister said that about 10,000 people have already returned to Bengal in the past few months after facing harassment in different States.

“The number of those who have returned to the State in the last few days is about 10,000. If they register their names on the Shramshree portal, they will be given a card. As a result, they will access facilities of the State government,” Ms. Banerjee said.

Migrant workers facing harassment

According to reports, hundreds of Bengali-speaking migrants in different States were asked to prove that they were not Bangladeshi nationals. Some workers were even deported to Bangladesh, but later brought back with the help of Indian authorities.

The Trinamool Congress has accused other States of targeting migrant workers for speaking Bengali and has launched what it calls a “language movement.”

Despite the harassment, many workers have returned to their workplaces outside Bengal, saying they could not find employment opportunities within the State.

Ms. Banerjee also raised concerns about a door-to-door mental health survey being conducted by AIIMS Kalyani in seven districts of West Bengal.

She alleged that the exercise was an “indirect” attempt to collect information for a National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the State.

“In the name of a mental health survey, AIIMS Kalyani is indirectly surveying for the NRC. If any organisation reaches your house in the name of a survey, please verify it with the State government first,” the Chief Minister said.

AIIMS Kalyani officials, however, clarified that the survey was being carried out as part of the second phase of the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS), under the guidance of a senior official of the State Health and Family Welfare Department.

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