Despite Calcutta High Court orders, rural employment guarantee scheme remains stalled in West Bengal

Disregarding court orders of the Calcutta High Court to resume the employment under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the state and central government have failed to meet the deadline and implement the scheme.

The Calcutta High Court on June 18, 2025, had issued directives to resume the flagship programme of the central government from August 1, but the workers from West Bengal continue to be barred from accessing the scheme.

On June,18, 2025, the Calcutta High Court directed the “scheme be implemented prospectively with effect from August,1, 2025”.

Instead of implementing the scheme, the block offices in multiple districts refused to accept job applications, according to a statement issued by Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity (PBKMS). 

Advocate Purbayan Chakraborty, representing PBKMS, said that between July 28 and 31, as many as 2,092 applications were submitted in the block offices in Purulia, South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas districts.

But the applications were not accepted. “Meanwhile, job applications from 1,349 workers were illegally rejected in nine block offices across seven districts,” the statement said. 

Chakraborty said that such an act was a deliberate attack on the employees’ right to work, depriving an estimated Rs 25 million of the state’s poorest workers of income.

Citing an instance, the statement said that employees were even discouraged from applying for the work.

“In Nadia district’s Krishnagar-II block, when a member of our union accompanied workers to submit job applications, the Block Development Officer (BDO) and several panchayat pradhans responded with abuse and threats, calling him a “Bangladeshi” and threatening him with arrest and punitive action. This is a dangerous attempt to criminalise and silence those fighting for workers’ constitutional rights,” the statement noted.

When the Samity approached the NREGA commissioner, the latter said that no work will be initiated unless the central government issues a notification. 

Such a position, the Samity argued, undermines the authority of the Calcutta High Court. 

“The state government, meanwhile, continues to engage in false publicity, claiming credit for the court’s verdict while doing absolutely nothing to implement it. The chief minister can raise puja grants to local clubs from Rs 85,000-1,10,000, but has no plan to ensure employment for the crores of rural workers in her state,” the statement read.

Chakraborty said that the central government continues to stop the release of funds, triggering the Section 27 of the MGNREGA Act.

In December 2021, the central government invoked the section and stopped the payments claiming corruption and irregularities in the implementation of the scheme. On March 9, 2022, the central government stopped work entirely. 

The Samity termed such non-compliance of the High Court order as illegal, unjust and unacceptable. 

Had either government respected the Court’s ruling, they would have begun accepting applications at least 15 days in advance and ensured necessary measures are taken to resume MGNREGA in the state, the Samity statement said.

Chakraborty said the Samity will now approach the High Court on Tuesday, demanding immediate implementation of the work as per its order. “We will also demand unemployment allowance to the workers who’s application were rejected despite demand,” he added.

The Samity has also demanded to stop illegal rejection of job application and intimidation of activists. 

Final summary: Despite the Calcutta High Court's directive to resume the MGNREGA scheme in West Bengal by August 1, 2025, the programme remains inactive, leaving thousands of workers without employment. The Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity highlighted the rejection of job applications and intimidation of activists, urging immediate compliance with the court's order. The state and central governments' inaction has sparked calls for urgent intervention.