High Court orders Centre to resume MGNREGA in West Bengal from August 1

The Calcutta High Court has ordered the Central Government to resume implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in West Bengal from August 1.

The project had been stalled for nearly three years in the state, as allegations of corruption led to a political blame game between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

A division bench comprising Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Chaitali Chatterjee Das has now ordered the implementation of the scheme.

The bench noted that neither the Centre nor the State had taken any action against those involved in the alleged corruption, which had delayed the scheme's implementation in Bengal.

"The Centre has sufficient power. The Centre will start this scheme not only in four districts but across the entire state from August 1. The Centre may impose any conditions or restrictions it deems necessary, so that the corruption which occurred previously is not repeated," the court stated.

The High Court's order followed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that claimed the poor were being denied their legitimate entitlement under the Act, which guarantees 100 days of employment per year to rural households. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari had also filed a case in this regard, which was subsequently merged with the PIL.

Reacting to the order, Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh said, "The state government will respond to this development in detail... But we want to say that today's order vindicated our stance and our fight for the central funds. The central government was blocking Bengal's funds illegally and in a discriminatory manner."

"Such discrimination should not happen in the country. They pointed fingers at Bengal, but the Gujarat minister's son was involved in the MGNREGA scam, and fake job cards were found in Uttar Pradesh..." Ghosh added.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was enacted in 2005 and came into force on February 2, 2006, initially covering 200 districts. It was later expanded to include all rural districts across India.

The scheme guarantees 100 days of wage employment per year to rural households, aiming to enhance livelihood security, reduce poverty, and create durable rural assets, while promoting inclusive development through unskilled manual work on public projects.