Job guarantee: Bengal says Objection, Comrades

Sources said one of the key objections is over the section on ‘‘Unemployment allowances’’ in the draft that has troubled the state government. According to this, it’s the ‘‘liability’’ of the state government to pay unemployment allowance.

This allowance is mandatory if the state fails to provide employment within 15 days of receipt of a person’s application. The amount to be paid will be the same as that fixed as daily wages. And it cannot be less than one-third the amount fixed as minimum wage for agricultural labour.

Another worrying aspect for the government is that once this is made law, it could end up being dragged to court over any ‘‘aberration’’ in implementation. Sources said even some state Ministers have told the politburo that if this has to be pushed, it’s better as a scheme, not a law.

Contacted by The Indian Express in New Delhi today, Dasgupta, who was here to chair the VAT conference, said: ‘‘I am a disciplined party worker so I would rather not go into the details but I have conveyed the state government’s views to the politburo members.’’

In Kolkata, Mohammed Amin, the state’s Labour Minister, said: ‘‘This is a Central scheme and I don’t know anything about its present status.’’ Asked if the state had raised objections, Amin said, ‘‘I cannot comment.’’

The Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government has reason to be wary—its experience with a similar unemployment assistance scheme has been abysmal.

The unemployment assistance or ‘‘bekar bhatta’’ scheme, conceived in 1978 soon after the Left Front came to power, limped along until 2001 before being scrapped.

Consider its record:

• Under this, a registered unemployed individual got Rs 50 per month for three years. This continued until 1983-84.

• During 1985-86, a ‘‘holiday’’ was declared for the scheme as the state did not have funds to pay.

• After one year, the scheme was reintroduced but the period of payment to those eligible was reduced from three years to two years.

• Still, cash was hard to find. The scheme was again put on hold and ‘‘eligible candidates’’ for 1999-2000 did not get the allowance.

• Just before the last Assembly polls in 2001, Dasgupta anounced that arrears would be paid to the 1999-2000 batch and accordingly a one-time payment of Rs 2500 per head was provided.

• Since 2000-2001, no one has received any assistance.