Parties in Bengal Take on Centre Over MGNREGS Freeze

TMC, CPM, Congress condemn Centre for halting MGNREGS funds in Bengal.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

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 non-compliance with Central directives under Section 27 of MGNREG Act, 2005, as the reason for halting fund releases since March 9, 2022.