West Bengal Infrastructure and Rural Development Package Announced
Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan chaired a high-level review meeting in Kolkata with West Bengal Chief Minister Shri Suvendu Adhikari, state cabinet members, and senior officials from both central and state governments. The meeting resulted in several major development announcements aimed at accelerating West Bengal's growth trajectory.
Infrastructure Development Push
The central and state governments are collaborating to accelerate infrastructure development, with a review of 19 major infrastructure projects worth over ₹82,000 crore across multiple sectors including roads and highways, railways, metro, petroleum & natural gas, coal, and labour. Detailed discussions addressed long-pending issues relating to land acquisition, rehabilitation & resettlement, utility shifting, forest clearances, and inter-departmental coordination. The Minister directed concerned ministries, state government, district administration, and implementing agencies to ensure coordinated and time-bound action to remove bottlenecks and expedite implementation. Shri Chouhan suggested establishing a State-level Project Monitoring Group (State PMG) in West Bengal to strengthen project monitoring and improve inter-departmental coordination, mirroring Prime Minister Narendra Modi's PRAGATI review mechanism.
Rural Development and Employment Framework
The Central Government has approved ₹8,508 crore for West Bengal's rural development, which together with the state government's share will channel total resources exceeding ₹12,064 crore directly through Panchayats until March 31. These funds are aimed at generating employment and supporting comprehensive rural development. The government objective has expanded from guaranteeing 100 days of employment to moving toward 125 days of employment, providing greater income security to rural households and enabling additional work opportunities during natural disasters or local emergencies. This initiative operates under the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, which came into force on July 1 and establishes a new national framework for rural employment and livelihoods, with special emphasis in West Bengal on creating durable rural assets including roads, ponds, minor irrigation infrastructure, schools, and Anganwadi buildings.
Housing and Women's Empowerment Initiatives
An interim approval has been granted for one lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) for West Bengal. Due to heavy rainfall preventing completion of beneficiary surveys within the scheduled timeline, the deadline for surveys has been extended until August 15 to ensure accurate identification of all eligible families. Officials were directed to expedite both beneficiary surveys and physical verification simultaneously, with house allotments commencing immediately upon completion of verification.
Under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana, enhanced financial support of ₹295 crore has been announced for Women's Self-Help Groups in West Bengal, comprising ₹245 crore in bank credit and ₹50 crore under the Community Investment Fund. This assistance aims to strengthen women's participation in production, processing, value addition, and marketing, creating new livelihood opportunities and enhancing rural incomes.
Agricultural Development Initiatives
Malda will be integrated into the national Clean Plant network with a proposed Clean Plant Facility focusing on producing disease-free, high-quality planting material for mango, litchi, and other fruit crops. The Clean Plant Program offers financial assistance of up to ₹3 crore for large nurseries and ₹1.5 crore for medium-sized nurseries to develop a modern nursery ecosystem.
Special projects have been approved for West Bengal's major rice-growing regions to strengthen nutrition, value chains, and processing infrastructure, with focus on nutritious rice varieties, maize seed production, storage, processing, and value addition. West Bengal will be developed as the Seed Hub of Eastern India, with MoUs already signed with the State Government for production of potato seed, hybrid maize seed, and seeds of other crops. Additional projects for orchid cultivation and horticulture have been approved to enable farmers to diversify into high-value floriculture and horticulture.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research, State Agricultural Universities, and agricultural scientists are jointly preparing a scientific Agriculture Roadmap for West Bengal that will identify region-specific crop planning based on agro-climatic conditions, soil characteristics, water availability, and local resources, while recommending appropriate technologies and value-chain models. Efforts are underway to develop rice research institutions into Centres of Excellence.
Insurance and Credit Expansion
Farmers across West Bengal will be brought under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana on a much larger scale to ensure protection against crop losses from natural calamities. To address limited access to Kisan Credit Cards, village-level camps will be organized in collaboration with NABARD and banks to expand KCC coverage, ensuring farmers receive affordable institutional credit. Additional initiatives including the National Mission on Natural Farming, PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana, Digital Agritech, and nutrition enhancement programs will be implemented to transform West Bengal's agricultural landscape.