In a major relief for the West Bengal government, the Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the Centre to immediately resume the 100-day work scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the state.
The scheme has remained suspended in Bengal for nearly three years. The state government has repeatedly alleged that the Centre withheld funds for the project, leading to its halt.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, while hearing the matter, observed that MGNREGA work should start in the state without delay.
The bench said, “As accepted by all the parties that there exists no impediment for implementing MGNREGA with prospective effect, we deem it proper to implement the MGNREGA scheme forthwith.”
During the hearing, senior state counsel Kalyan Bandhopadhyay submitted that arrears of workers must also be released. “The Central government is yet to pay the wages of labourers. The state government, however, has already disbursed some arrears. There is around Rs 4,500 crore in arrears,” he said.
Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Ashok Chakraborty argued that there had been “absolute misappropriation of funds by the state government”, and that an inquiry had already been conducted into the allegations.
The court directed the Centre to file an affidavit regarding disbursement of wages within four weeks, while the petitioners were given two weeks to file their submission. The matter will be listed for further hearing thereafter.
Why MGNREGA funds were stopped in state
In June this year, a division bench comprising then Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Chaitali Chatterjee (Das) had ordered the relaunch of MGNREGA in West Bengal, which had been stalled for three years following allegations of corruption. The court had directed that work be resumed from August 1.
The Centre later challenged that order in the Supreme Court. A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta dismissed the Centre’s plea, thereby upholding the Calcutta High Court’s directive. Subsequently, a plea was filed in the High Court seeking enforcement of the order immediately. Wages under the scheme have not been paid since December 2021.
The petitioner in the case, the West Bengal Agricultural Workers’ Association, had sought a settlement of outstanding wages amounting to Rs 2,76,484, along with interest at 0.05 per cent per day on the pending amount. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who is the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, had then filed a case, requesting the court to order a CBI investigation into the matter.
The Centre had stopped funds to the state in March 2022, citing powers under Section 27 of the MGNREGA Act. The state government had told the court that an action-taken report would be submitted on February 2, 2023. In June 2023, the Centre’s lawyer said the decision to stop the project was taken after examining this report. The court then ordered that complaints regarding this project should be taken from “block to block” in the state.
In January 2024, the state Panchayat and Rural Development Department had stated in an affidavit that a central audit team had found irregularities worth Rs 613 crore, of which the state had recovered Rs 210.35 lakh. A four-member committee — comprising representatives from the Centre, state government, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), and the Accountant General — was formed to verify beneficiaries and review records.
Between 2016 and 2022, the state was allocated Rs 50,593 crore under the MGNREGA scheme. Allegations of irregularities were linked to work worth Rs 9.2 crore, against which action was reportedly taken. According to officials, all related records have been submitted to the Union Ministry of Rural Development.