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West Bengal’s new BJP-led cabinet has ordered an end to state aid programs that singled out communities by religion and has suspended the state’s own OBC roster, saying a judicially guided review will determine future quotas. The move, announced Monday and slated to take effect in June, represents a swift pivot from policies of the previous Trinamool Congress government and immediately affects which groups qualify for targeted support.
At a press briefing after the cabinet meeting at Nabanna, minister Agnimitra Paul said departments that ran religion-specific schemes — including Information and Cultural Affairs and Minority Affairs and Madrasa Education — were instructed to wind those programs down by the end of May. From June, the administration will stop new disbursements tied explicitly to religious classification.
What the government decided
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The state also set aside the existing state-level OBC list and announced the formation of an expert panel to re-examine eligibility for reservation and related benefits in line with the Calcutta High Court’s directions. The government has already withdrawn the previous administration’s appeal against the high court’s stay on the state OBC list rollout.
The legal backdrop is significant: on July 28 last year, the Supreme Court lifted a high-court injunction that had blocked a revised state OBC schedule. That revised roster included a broader set of sub-groups across OBC-A and OBC-B categories; the Supreme Court observed that the executive branch may notify such lists without separate legislation.
- End to religion-based aid: Schemes classified by religious group will be discontinued from June; existing payments will continue through the end of May.
- State OBC list suspended: The current state roster has been scrapped pending review by a newly constituted panel to decide quota eligibility.
- Annapurna scheme: A new monthly grant of Rs 3,000 for eligible women will begin from June 1.
- Free bus travel: Cabinet approved free travel for women on government-run buses starting next month.
- Employee matters: The 7th state pay commission has been approved; talks on dearness allowance were not held and will follow later.
Paul said women who applied for citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act and those who sought inclusion in voter rolls after the state’s recent electoral-list review will be eligible for the new Annapurna assistance. The BJP had campaigned promising both the Rs 3,000 monthly support and concessional travel for women; the cabinet’s approvals put those promises into administrative action.
Immediate implications
For beneficiaries, the changes mean some programmes that were previously targeted on the basis of religion will no longer operate in the same form. For communities listed under the now-suspended state OBC roster, access to reservation and related benefits will depend on the outcomes of the panel the government has pledged to create.
The decision could prompt further litigation and administrative reviews. Political parties and affected groups are likely to challenge or defend the new stance in courts or through public campaigns, and implementation details — who qualifies, how claims will be processed, and the timeline for the panel’s work — will determine the practical impact on the ground.
What to watch next
Key developments to follow in the coming weeks: the constitution and membership of the quota-review panel; timelines for winding down the religion-targeted programmes; the first disbursements under the Annapurna scheme; and any legal challenges to the cabinet’s orders. How quickly the state defines new eligibility criteria will affect thousands who depend on government support or reservation benefits.
The cabinet’s package signals a clear policy redirection. Officials say the steps align state practice with court rulings; opponents will argue about fairness and the social consequences of removing religion-based support. Both the legal process and administrative choices now set the pace for how those disputes are resolved.
