States » EastPosted at: Sep 17 2026 6:59PM


Suvendu Adhikari accuses previous Trinamul government of blocking PM Vishwakarma scheme in Bengal

Kolkata, Sep 17 (UNI) West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari criticised the previous Trinamul Congress government for allegedly keeping the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma scheme out of the state.
Speaking at the formal launching of the Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma scheme in West Bengal on Thursday, the Chief Minister said, “Vishwakarmas from Bengal have had to stay in other states. The previous government had told district magistrates not to implement the Vishwakarma scheme.”
“Not just Vishwakarma, no scheme of the Government of India was allowed to be implemented in the state in the past,” the chief minister said at the Dhanadhanya Auditorium in Kolkata on Thursday in the presence of union MSME Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi.
He said lakhs of artisans and craftsmen in the state had allegedly been deprived of central assistance because of the previous government’s “political discrimination”.
The Chief Minister said 7.70 lakh artisans were already registered on the Vishwakarma portal, but the previous government had allegedly kept the implementation of the scheme stalled through unwritten instructions to district magistrates.
He said artisans such as goldsmiths, leather workers and handicraft makers had been forced to migrate to states such as Gujarat, Delhi, Rajasthan and Maharashtra in search of opportunities.
The administrative process for implementing the scheme in Bengal began in May this year.
The state government issued a notification on May 14 and subsequently formed a state-level monitoring committee and district-level implementation committees.
The selection, verification and registration of eligible beneficiaries have since progressed in phases, while training for beneficiaries has also begun.
Under the scheme, artisans will receive training through government teams, training allowances and toolkits.
They will also be eligible for collateral-free loans at concessional interest rates through banks, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi acting as the guarantor, according to the state government.
Adhikari said the scheme would benefit traditional artisans without requiring educational certificates, while helping preserve hereditary skills through modern training and financial support.
He also said the benefits of Ayushman Bharat had already reached around 50,000 people in Bengal and nearly 2,000 migrant workers living in other states since its launch in the state on August 16.
Adhikari said the government plans to bring more than 63.22 lakh entrepreneurs registered on the Udyam portal under schemes such as PMEGP and the Credit Guarantee Scheme.
He said the target was to take the number of beneficiaries of the Vishwakarma scheme in Bengal to five lakhs by 2027.
The Chief Minister further announced that Vishwakarma Day in 2027 would be observed on September 17 at Kolkata’s historic Brigade Parade Ground in the open air, with at least five lakh beneficiaries participating in the programme. UNI SAG CDS
Tags: #Suvendu Adhikari accuses previous Trinamul government of blocking PM Vishwakarma scheme in Bengal
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