Kolkata: As the Calcutta High Court’s August 1 deadline for the Centre to resume the 100 days’ work programme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in West Bengal passed without action, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), and Congress have condemned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central Government.
The Opposition parties accuse the Centre of ignoring the State’s rural poor by failing to release over Rs 3,000 crore in pending dues, the highest among all States, despite a clear court mandate. The parties have threatened legal action, including contempt of court proceedings, to press for the restoration of the scheme, which has been suspended in West Bengal since March 2022.
On June 18, a Calcutta High Court bench, led by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, ordered the “prospective implementation” of MGNREGS in the State from August 1, emphasizing that the scheme, critical for rural livelihoods, could not be “put in cold storage for eternity.” The court permitted the Centre to impose conditions to address past irregularities and recover misappropriated funds but made it clear that the program must resume.
However, with no progress on the ground, Opposition parties in West Bengal are planning to escalate their protests, alleging deliberate discrimination by the Centre.
On Friday, the Centre’s position was clarified in a Rajya Sabha response by Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan. In reply to a question by TMC MP Prakash Chik Barik, Paswan stated that West Bengal’s pending dues under MGNREGS amount to Rs 3,038 crore, covering wages, materials, and administrative costs.
The Minister cited noncompliance with Central directives under Section 27 of MGNREG Act, 2005, as the reason for halting fund releases since March 9, 2022. According to the Central Government, West Bengal stands alone among States and Union Territories with pending wage liabilities from previous years.
In comparison, other States with significant pending wage liabilities include Andhra Pradesh (Rs 1,684.39 crore), Bihar (Rs 893.57 crore), Uttar Pradesh (Rs 694.76 crore), and Telangana (Rs 456.31 crore). Despite these dues, fund releases to other States have continued, fuelling accusations of targeted neglect toward West Bengal.
Paswan noted that, as of July 28, Rs 47,567 crore had been released nationwide under MGNREGS for the current financial year, including Rs 39,595 crore for wages, but West Bengal received none.
The revelation has led to an outcry from Opposition parties. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh accused the Centre of “blatant discrimination,” pointing out that workers in West Bengal have been denied payments for work already completed.
“Uttar Pradesh, as per the Centre’s own data, has the highest number of fake job cards, yet it continues to receive funds. Why is Bengal being singled out?” Ghosh questioned. He further criticized the Centre for disregarding the High Court’s orders, calling it “sheer contempt of court” and a move to “browbeat Bengal.”
The Trinamool Congress also highlighted the issue on its X handle, posting: “Despite fulfilling its responsibilities under the Act, Bengal is being punished for consistently rejecting @BJP4India’s divisive and toxic politics. In a recent Parliament response, it was revealed that Bengal reported a meagre number of fake job card deletions, completely contradicting the claims of large-scale irregularities. So what irregularities is the Centre talking about?
“This is not just financial denial, it is a calculated assault on federalism and a clear reflection of the Centre’s Bangla Birodhi agenda. Bengal will not be silenced, will not be bullied, and will not back down.”
The CPM, which has been organizing block-level protests over the past month to demand the restoration of MGNREGS and payment of pending wages, echoed these sentiments. CPM State secretary Md Salim warned that failure to comply with the court order would lead to intensified street protests and potential legal action.
“If 100 days’ work is not restarted immediately, we will take it to the streets. We are also exploring legal recourse,” Salim said to The Sunday Guardian.
Pradesh Congress president Subhankar Sarkar emphasized the scheme’s importance for rural livelihoods, arguing that investigations into corruption allegations should not be used as an excuse to halt MGNREGS entirely.
“The State Government must release a White Paper on the scheme’s accounts to ensure transparency, but denying workers their rights is unacceptable,” Sarkar said, adding that Congress would consider legal steps if necessary.
The Bengal BJP, however, highlighted what it described as ambiguity in the High Court’s order. State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya noted that while the court mandated the resumption of MGNREGS, it also allowed the Centre to investigate corruption allegations and impose conditions.
“The court’s directive lacks clarity,” Bhattacharya argued, adding that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a delegation of parliamentarians, promising Secretary-level meetings to resolve the issue. “Those meetings never happened,” he said, shifting responsibility to the State Government.
The suspension of MGNREGS funds has been a contentious issue for years, with the Centre alleging widespread irregularities in West Bengal’s implementation of the scheme.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development, in a March 2025 report, warned that the funds freeze has led to “severe consequences,” including increased distress migration and disruptions in rural development initiatives.
West Bengal has 256.32 lakh workers registered under MGNREGS, making the scheme’s suspension particularly impactful.
The hardening stance of the TMC, CPM, and Congress comes as West Bengal gears up for a crucial poll season. The Opposition parties see the MGNREGS issue as a potent weapon to rally rural voters against the BJP, framing the funds freeze as an attack on the State’s poor. TMC MPs had previously criticized the Centre for omitting West Bengal from a Rajya Sabha response on MGNREGS liabilities, with TMC’s Derek O’Brien and Congress MPs raising the issue in Parliament.
For rural workers in West Bengal, the stakes are high. The non-payment of wages and suspension of MGNREGS have left lakhs of poor people without a critical safety net, exacerbating economic distress in a State already grappling with post-pandemic recovery challenges.
