The West Bengal government on Friday officially renamed its rural job guarantee scheme, Karmashree, as “Mahatma Shree”, amid a dispute with the Union government over its decision to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act with a new legislation.
The Union government this week introduced the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee For Rozgar And Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, which seeks to replace MGNREGA.
Introduced in 2005 by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, MGNREGA guarantees 100 days of unskilled work each year to rural households across the country to enhance livelihood security. While the Centre bears wage costs under the scheme, states share expenses related to materials and administration.
The new bill proposes increasing guaranteed workdays from 100 to 125 while raising states’ share of costs to 40%.
Despite protests by Opposition parties, the legislation, introduced in Parliament on Tuesday, was passed by both Houses on Thursday, a day before the Winter Session ended.
West Bengal launched the Karmashree scheme in 2024 to provide at least 50 days of employment per financial year to job card-holding households through works implemented by various state departments. The scheme, funded entirely by the state government, has generated 101.5 crore person-days of work for over 90 lakh job card holders, according to the state government.
The amended state scheme also promises to increase guaranteed workdays to 100 from 50.
On the day that the VB-G RAM G bill was passed in Parliament, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the renaming of the state scheme saying the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from MGNREGA filled her with “deep shame”
“Are we now forgetting even the Father of the Nation?” the Trinamool Congress chief asked. “We seek nothing except respect. If some do not know how to honour Mahatma Gandhi, we will demonstrate what true respect means.”
On Saturday, Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose said the Banerjee-led government in the state “will ensure that Bapu and his legacy are never forgotten”.
Ghose alleged that the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre wanted to erase Gandhi’s memory and claimed that the Sangh Parivar preferred Nathuram Godse over Gandhi.
Banerjee said West Bengal had started the rural job guarantee scheme when the Centre blocked funds to the state under MGNREGA, India Today reported.
“Even if central funds are stopped, we will ensure people get work,” she said. “We are not beggars.”
In March 2022, the Union government suspended MGNREGA 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 MGNREGA but has received no funds in the following three financial years.
On December 5, the Union government told Parliament that it was in the “process of reworking and refining the necessary modalities and procedures” to resume the scheme under the Act in West Bengal.
Also read:
- BJP chief ministers wanted MGNREGA to include farm work. Modi government’s bill goes another way
- ‘A bill to destroy MGNREGA’: Why experts fear the worst from new job guarantee bill
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