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The Hindu
01-08-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
No resumption of MGNREGA work in West Bengal despite HC order says PBKMS
Despite an order by the Calcutta High Court, to resume MGNREGA in West Bengal from August 1, there has been no resumption of 100 days work, Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity, a union of agricultural workers, said on Friday (August 1, 2025). Hearing a petition of PBKMS a division bench of the Calcutta High Court headed by T.S. Sivagnanam on June 18 directed the resumption of the scheme from August 1 'Yet, even after this landmark victory for rural workers, both the Central and State governments have chosen to brazenly defy the Court's order. Instead of preparing for the resumption of work, block offices in multiple districts are refusing to even accept job applications. This is a deliberate attack on the right to work of the state's poorest,' a press statement by PBKMS said. The union also added that job applications by people made under MGNREGA have been rejected. 'In just four days, between 28th and 31st July 2025, 2,092 job applications were submitted across block offices in Purulia, South 24 Parganas, and North 24 Parganas districts. Meanwhile, job applications from 1,349 workers were illegally rejected in 9 block offices across 7 districts,' the union said. A representative of PBKMS said that when they contacted the NREGA Commissioner, he clearly stated that no work will begin unless the Central Government issues fresh instructions - a position that clearly undermines the authority of the Calcutta High Court. Alleging willful inaction by both the governments, the union stated that the Central Government is equally guilty and by hiding behind Section 27 of the MGNREGA Act, 'it continues to block the release of funds and work, systematically depriving Bengal's workers of their legal right to employment'. The workers union also claimed that in Nadia district's Krishnagar-II block, when a member of the union accompanied workers to submit job applications, the BDO and several panchayat pradhans responded with abuse and threats, calling him a 'Bangladeshi' and threatening him with arrest and punitive action. Demanding the immediate implementation of MGNREGA work in West Bengal, as per the High Court order, the PBKMS stated that this blatant 'non-compliance with a High Court order is illegal, unjust, and unacceptable and it continue our struggle for the right to work in every village and every district'. Before the Lok Sabha polls in 2024, the Trinamool Congress along with MGNREGA workers held protests in Delhi demanding payment of wages and resumption of work. However, West Bengal's ruling party response to the High Court order has been lukewarm. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said her government has started Karmashree Prakalpa to provide at least 50 days of wage employment to each Job Card holder household in a financial year. The scheme, however, is not visible at the grass roots level .Work under MGNREGA had stopped in the State since December 2021 which has resulted in widespread rural distress and migration.
The Hindu
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Political parties compete to take credit for resumption of MGNREGS in West Bengal
A day after the Calcutta High Court directed the resumption of MGNREGS in West Bengal, political parties in the State tried to take credit for the return of the 100-days-work scheme after a three-year hiatus. A Division Bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Chaitali Chatterjee on Wednesday (June 18) directed the Union government to resume the Centrally funded scheme from August 1. Welcoming the High Court order, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee noted that her government had already started a scheme called 'Karmashree' to provide 50 days work to people in the State. Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee claimed that the stoppage of the scheme in the State was 'revenge and retribution' after the BJP failed to defeat his party in the 2021 Assembly polls. 'We welcome it. We made a promise to the people of Bengal — that we would fight for their rights with every ounce of strength in our bodies, and we reaffirm our commitment to fight for Bengal against the ZAMINDARS in every forum, at every level,' he said. Also Read | What is the lowdown on MGNREGA funding? The West Bengal BJP leadership described the resumption of the scheme as a 'resounding slap to Trinamool's corrupt machinery'. 'Bengal's poorest will finally receive what's rightfully theirs. But make no mistake — Mamata Banerjee Government will try everything to derail this because she simply cannot tolerate any system that she doesn't control and cannot exploit,' State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said. BJP MP and party spokesperson for the State, Shamik Bhattacharya also spoke on similar lines, asserting that the BJP and Union government wanted to give people 100-day work money. 'We understand that the Trinamool government has pushed its people so far into poverty in this State that they have to depend on this money,' he said. The stoppage of the scheme since March 2022 has affected about 2.5 crore workers in the State. The petition to resume work under MGNREGS was filed by Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity (PBKMS), a union of agricultural workers, before the Calcutta High Court. In a statement, PBKMS said that the union viewed the High Court order 'as a significant victory for rural workers in West Bengal and a strong reaffirmation of their right to work under MGNREGA'. The union would remain committed to monitoring the implementation of the court's order and would continue to stand with the workers in their struggle for dignity and justice, it said. Observing that the court order came in response to a petition filed by PBKMS challenging the Central government's suspension of MGNREGS in the State, PBKMS said that the suspension, which lasted over three years, deprived nearly 2.5 crore registered rural workers of their statutory right to employment under the Act. 'PBKMS, on behalf of MGNREGA workers of Bengal, extends heartfelt gratitude to the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha and its constituent organisations who stood in solidarity with the rural workers of Bengal throughout this fight,' the statement added.
