The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday ordered that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which has been stalled in the state for three years following allegations of corruption, be restarted from August 1.

During the hearing, Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam observed, “No central project can be sent to the cold storage forever. The Centre can impose any kind of conditions to prevent corruption.”

The state government has alleged that the Centre withheld wages for the scheme, while the central government claims there was widespread corruption in its rollout in Bengal.

The Bench ordered that the Centre can impose special conditions only for West Bengal.

The court further observed, “If the Centre wants, it can send money directly to the account of a specific person through the central portal. The Centre can carry out necessary surveillance to prevent corruption. In addition, the Centre can continue investigations in all districts of the state.”

The matter will be heard again after August 15.

Alleging that wages had not been paid since December 2021, the West Bengal Agricultural Workers’ Association had petitioned the High Court, requesting that outstanding dues be settled. Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP had then filed a case alleging embezzlement in the project. He also requested the court to order a CBI investigation.

In March 2022, the Centre announced that it would cease funding by exercising its powers under Section 27 of the MGNREGA Act.

In June 2023, the central government’s lawyer said that the decision to stop the project was taken after examining the action taken report provided by the state.