WB finalises Rs 313.30-Crore tea workers’ welfare scheme

The West Bengal government announced implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Cha Shramik Protsahan Yojana with a ₹313.30-crore outlay to improve healthcare, education and basic amenities for tea garden workers and their families across North Bengal

Kolkata: Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday said his government has finalised the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Cha Shramik Protsahan Yojana in West Bengal with a Rs 313.30-crore outlay for improving healthcare, education and other amenities for tea garden workers and their families.

The Central scheme aims to provide more than 10 lakh tea garden workers in Assam and West Bengal access to better healthcare, education, and resting facilities.

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It was not implemented in West Bengal for nearly two years as the State Level Committee, a prerequisite for implementing the scheme, had not been formed by the erstwhile Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government.

On Sunday, Adhikari took to X to announce that the committee recently finalised the implementation plan of the Central scheme, and expressed his government’s commitment to the comprehensive welfare of North Bengal’s tea garden workers.

The chief minister said that the scheme, with a corpus of Rs 313.30 crore, would bring transformative changes in the lives of the tea garden workers.

Breaking down the components of the scheme, he highlighted that under the ‘Cha Shramik Shiksha Yojana’ subhead, Rs 177 crore has been earmarked to boost educational infrastructure and quality interventions for the families of tea workers.

Rs 72 crore would be spent under the ‘Cha Shramik Swasthya Suraksha Yojana’ (CSSSY) to upgrade health facilities and ensure robust medical services in the state’s tea garden areas, Adhikari said.

He also said that Rs 63 crore has been earmarked for the ‘Cha Shramik Aashray Yojana’ (CSAY), under which 321 resting sheds would be built, with 88 in the hills and 233 in the plains.

According to the chief minister, the sheds would be equipped with modern, dignified amenities including off-grid solar power, clean drinking water, comfortable seating arrangements and hygienic ceramic-floored toilets.

Adhikari said the North Bengal Development Department would lead the implementation of the programme and work closely with the health department, the Paschim Banga Samagra Siksha Mission and district administrations.

“Our government remains steadfast in its dedication to the prosperity and wellbeing of the tea garden workers,” he added.