West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, at a public meeting on Tuesday, tore up a note outlining the new rules for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the state, describing the norms as a “valueless and insulting” diktat, The Indian Express reported.
The chief minister said the state government would run its own employment scheme without asking for “Delhi’s charity”.
The MNREGS was introduced in 2005 by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance and is aimed at enhancing the livelihood security of households in rural areas. The scheme guarantees 100 days of unskilled work annually for every rural household that wants it, covering all districts in the country.
Funds for the scheme are contributed by the Union and the state governments.
In March 2022, the Union government suspended MNREGS funding to West Bengal, citing widespread irregularities and alleged violations of the scheme’s implementation rules by the state government.
West Bengal received Rs 7,507 crore in the financial year 2021-’22 under MNREGS but has received no funds in the following three financial years.
On Friday, the Union Ministry of Rural Development told Parliament that it is in the process of reworking the procedures to resume the scheme in West Bengal.
On Tuesday, Banerjee said at the public meeting in Cooch Behar that the West Bengal government had on Sunday received a letter from the Union government stating that starting December 6, the state must submit a quarterly labour budget, The Indian Express reported.
“They [the Union government] have imposed a condition,” the newspaper quoted her as saying. “But where is the time to show it? This is December, and the election is due early next year. Then they said training has to be provided.”
West Bengal is expected to head for Assembly polls in the first half of 2026.
Banerjee added: “When will you train and when will you give the jobs? This piece of paper is valueless. We will come back to power. Under Karmashree, we are giving 70 days of work. We will increase it to 100 days. We don’t want your mercy. We are not begging.”
The Trinamool Congress chief said that she was tearing up the note because she felt it is disrespectful. “Bengal has never bowed down and will never do so,” she said. “Bengal knows how to walk with its head held high.”
In June, the Calcutta High Court directed the Centre to resume implementation of the scheme, stating that the Union and state governments may impose special conditions to prevent irregularities.
The Union government challenged this in the Supreme Court, which, on October 27, dismissed the petition and upheld the High Court’s directive. The implementation did not begin, prompting further petitions.
On November 7, the High Court directed the Union government to immediately resume work under MNREGS in the state.
On Tuesday, Banerjee said on social media that “even after clear directions” from the High Court and the Supreme Court, the Union government has continued to “impose restrictive conditions to deny employment” to West Bengal’s rural poor.
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