Despite Courts directing full resumption of MGNREGA in Bengal, rural workers continue to report lack of work, rejected job applications, and unpaid wages.
TMC MPs have repeatedly raised the issue in Parliament, accusing the Centre of withholding funds and deepening distress for lakhs of rural households.
The W.B. government started clearing some pending wages from its own resources, but full implementation hinges on the Centre releasing funds. Center owes Rs. 3000 crores to the state.
All India Trinamool Congress MP Asit Kumar Mal raised concerns over MGNREGA implementation in West Bengal. He was speaking in Lok Sabha during winter session of the parliament on December 4.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guaranty Scheme is a flagship rural employment programme that guarantees at least 100 days of wage employment a year to every rural household willing to do unskilled manual work. It aims to enhance livelihood security, reducing rural distress, poverty. Around 2.6 crore workers have been registered under MGNREGA in West Bengal.
MGNREGA in West Bengal has been at the centre of a prolonged standoff between the state and the Centre. The Union government had suspended funds to the state in March 2022, citing large-scale irregularities and misuse of money under the scheme. After nearly three years of halted payments and stalled work, the Calcutta High Court ordered that MGNREGA be resumed in West Bengal from 1 August 2025.
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The Supreme Court later upheld this order, rejecting the Centre’s plea and clearing the way for implementation. The Court has allowed the Centre to impose “special conditions and restrictions” on Bengal due to the earlier alleged irregularities but emphasised that workers cannot be denied their rights under the scheme.
The issue has politically escalated sharply in last few years. TMC MPs have repeatedly protested in Parliament, demanding immediate release of pending dues and accusing the Centre of withholding funds to target the state government.
Despite the court orders, many rural workers in West Bengal report that MGNREGA work and wage payments remain largely unavailable, according to the various news reports and labour activists. Activists visiting multiple blocks found that job applications were being rejected, leaving thousands of applicants without employment or income. Lakhs of rural households have faced severe distress due to the long delay in wage payments and the absence of guaranteed work, according to labour unions and workers collectives.
The West Bengal government had begun transferring pending wages from its own kitty in 2025, but a full-scale rollout depends on the release of central funds and administrative coordination following the court’s directives.
