Govt restores MGNREGA in Bengal after three-year freeze under strict new controls

The Central government has reinstated the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in West Bengal with immediate effect, ending a three-year freeze but placing the state under a stringent set of “special conditions” aimed at tightening oversight, financial controls and transparency.

The Union Rural Development Ministry issued the order on December 6, citing the Calcutta High Court’s June 18 directive — upheld by the Supreme Court on October 27 — which permitted the resumption of the scheme prospectively while allowing the government to impose regulatory safeguards. The order has been formally communicated to the state government.

According to the directive, work under the rural job programme will restart only after Bengal complies with mandatory measures listed in an annexure covering job card verification, biometric attendance, financial discipline, works management, monitoring protocols, accountability mechanisms and recovery and penal action.

A central requirement is 100% e-KYC of all workers — with muster rolls to be issued only after verification. Another significant departure from standard practice is the introduction of a quarterly labour budget for Bengal, replacing the annual approval followed in other states. The ministry has linked quarterly allocations to performance and compliance.

The restrictions extend to project costs as well. “No work with an estimated cost above ₹20 lakh shall be permitted,” the order states, adding that detailed project reports must be mandatory for all community works and approved by the district magistrate and district programme coordinator. All estimates must be generated through the SECURE software.

The rural employment scheme had been suspended in Bengal since March 9, 2022, after the government invoked Section 27 of the MGNREGA Act citing “non-compliance” by the state. Before the freeze, Bengal was among the country’s biggest users of the programme, with 51–80 lakh families accessing work annually between 2014-15 and 2021-22.

With Assembly elections due next year, the resumption offers significant relief to rural households, even as implementation will now take place under an unprecedented compliance regime.