In a dramatic rejection of the Union Government’s conditions to resume the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme in West Bengal after a three-year gap, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee publicly tore up the Centre’s note on the issue on Tuesday (December 9, 2025).
Centre unrelenting, Bengal to pay MGNREGS workers
“This is an order from the Centre. I am tearing it up. I think it is an insult, disrespectful,” the Chief Minister said, addressing a public meeting in the State’s Cooch Behar district.
“Day before yesterday, we received a letter stating that starting December 6, we must submit a quarterly labour budget. They have imposed a restrictive condition. 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,” Ms. Banerjee said.
The Centre had suspended the 100-day work scheme in the State in March 2022, alleging corruption in its implementation. Earlier this year, the Calcutta High Court had directed both the State and Union governments to resume the scheme from August 1. The Supreme Court dismissed the Centre’s appeal on September 27, directing that the scheme be resumed in the State. Despite appeals by agriculture unions, however, the scheme has yet to be resumed.
