HC sets date for Centre to resume MGNREGA in Bengal
The Statesman | 19 June 2025
In a major boost to the West Bengal government, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed the central government to resume the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme in West Bengal from 1 August.
The court emphasised that while the Centre is within its rights to impose safeguards or conditions to prevent corruption, it cannot indefinitely halt a public welfare scheme that serves millions.
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A division Bench comprising Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Chaitali Chattopadhyay delivered the order, stressing that the suspension of the 100-day rural job scheme, ongoing for three years, was unjustified despite allegations of financial irregularities.
The central government which funds the scheme entirely suspended MGNREGA funding to West Bengal in March 2022, citing large-scale corruption in the implementation of the scheme in West Bengal.
The court observed that the grievances of genuine workers cannot be ignored on account of administrative or political concerns marking a major development in the long-standing deadlock over the rural employment programme.
Additional Solicitor General Ashok Kumar Chakraborty, representing the Centre, said that central investigation teams uncovered irregularities in districts like Hooghly, East Bardhaman, Malda, and Darjeeling, involving embezzlement of over Rs 50 crores. A broader audit revealed anomalies amounting to Rs 613 crores, of which Rs 2.1 crores had been recovered by the state as of 2024.
“All the allegations are from before 2022. You are free to take any action regarding those. But the project must be started now,” Chief Justice Sivagnanam observed in response during the hearing. The court further clarified that MGNREGA, as legislated, does not allow for its indefinite suspension even in the face of corruption charges, and that any such action violates the spirit of the Act.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by the Paschim Banga Khet Majur Samiti, during which it observed that poor rural labourers should not be made to suffer wage losses and livelihood disruptions due to systemic failures. The bench further suggested that the scheme could be resumed in districts not affected by the alleged irregularities, while investigations continue in the four districts under scrutiny.
West Bengal received Rs 7,507.80 crore under MGNREGA in the 2021–22 financial year. However, since then, no funds have been disbursed. The Centre had justified its actions by citing inconsistencies found in 31 out of 63 inspected worksites, according to RTI replies.
In earlier observations also, the high court had noted that the Centre’s decision to withhold MGNREGA funds to West Bengal was unprecedented. While several other states had also reported financial irregularities under the scheme, none had faced complete suspension of funds over multiple years. The move, it said, had led to distress migration, financial instability, and stalling of rural development projects in Bengal.
In a separate case, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari also sought a CBI investigation into alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds in the state.