Centre moves SC against HC order on Bengal rural job scheme

KOLKATA: The Centre Monday moved Supreme Court challenging a Calcutta high court order directing it to resume the MGNREGA scheme in West Bengal from Aug 1. The apex court is likely to hear the plea this week.In June, the HC had directed the Centre to resume the rural employment programme in the state from Aug 1, saying the scheme could not be "put in cold storage for eternity". The scheme has been suspended in Bengal for nearly three years, with the Centre blocking the funds due to alleged irregularities and non-compliance with its directives.Refusing to buy the Centre's argument on fake job card holders, Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam had said, "A person who obtained wages illegally or under fictitious names could not go free and had to be dealt with firmly. But what about those who did the work genuinely? A line should be drawn and a cut-off date announced."TMC, however, used govt's own data to question its argument. Citing figures placed in the Lok Sabha, it alleged that 11,07,814 fake MGNREGS job cards were deleted across India between 2022 and 2025.