Calcutta HC Directs Centre to Immediately Resume Work Under MGNREGA in Bengal

MP, 8 Nvember 2025, Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the Centre to immediately resume the 100-day work scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in West Bengal. A division bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, made the observation while hearing a petition on the matter, stating that there should be no further delay in the resumption of MGNREGA work in the state.

“As accepted by all the parties that there exists no impediment for implementing MGNREGA with prospective effect, we deem it proper to implement the MGNREGA scheme forthwith,” the bench said in its order.

During the hearing, senior state counsel Kalyan Bandhopadhyay informed the court that arrears owed to workers should also be released. He mentioned that while the central government was responsible for paying the wages under MGNREGA, the state had already disbursed some of the wages. However, there is still an outstanding amount of approximately Rs 4,500 crore in arrears.

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In response, Additional Solicitor General Ashok Chakraborty, representing the Centre, argued that there had been “absolute misappropriation of funds by the state” and claimed that an inquiry had already been conducted on this issue. The court has now directed the Centre to file its affidavit in opposition to the claims regarding the disbursement of wages within four weeks. The petitioners have been given two weeks thereafter to file their affidavit in response. The matter will be listed for further hearing after that period.

The MGNREGA scheme has been suspended in West Bengal for nearly three years, with the state government repeatedly alleging that the Centre had withheld funds for the project, which led to the suspension. Earlier this year, in June, a division bench led by then Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Chaitali Chatterjee (Das) had ordered the resumption of MGNREGA in the state, directing that work be resumed from August 1, 2025.

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The Centre later challenged this order before the Supreme Court, but a bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta dismissed the Centre’s plea, thereby upholding the Calcutta High Court's directive. Following this, a plea was filed in the High Court seeking immediate enforcement of the order for the implementation of the scheme.

The Bengal government has already started necessary preparations to resume the MGNREGA scheme. All district administrations have been instructed to complete the verification of job card holders and update their e-KYC details to facilitate the resumption of the 100-day work scheme.