The Centre has resumed implementation of the the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MG-NREGS) in West Bengal, four years after it suspended the implementation of the rural jobs programme in the state by invoking special powers under the MG-NREGA Act.
An announcement of this effect came made after a meeting between West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday.
After meeting Chouhan at Krishi Bhawan, Adhikari said that the state will receive over Rs 700 crore under the MGNREGS for the remaining period in the month of June (2026). The Union Rural Development Minister has handed over me the sanction letter, Adhikari said, speaking to the reporters.
From July 1st, the state will implement the VB-G RAM G scheme, he added.
Adhikari also said that The state will also receive about Rs 1,000 crore under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana( PMGSY).
Chouhan also said that the funda have been approved under the MGNREGS for West Bengal for the remaining period (i.e. June).
According to sources, the Centre has also allowed resumption of the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin). However, the state will receive funds after it contacts survey under the rural housing scheme.
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The move comes after change in guard in Bengal following ousting of Mamta Banerjee led-TMC and the BJP coming to power.
It is learnt that the Empowered Committee (EC), chaired by Union Rural Development Secretary Rohit Kansal, met few days ago and discussed approval of West Bengal’s labour budget for the month of June.
The labour budget is approved for only the month of June as the Centre has announced rollout of its new rural job scheme from July 1 under the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB – G RAM G) Act, 2025. Once the new scheme becomes effective in the state, the two-decade old MG-NREGA will cease to exist.
However, it is not clear whether the approval of West Bengal’s labour budget will be subject to the “mandatory compliance with the special conditions” stipulated by the Ministry of Rural Development in its order dated December 6, 2025, or whether it will be issued without any such conditions.
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An email seeking the MoRD’s comments did not yield a response.
The Centre had stopped the release of funds to West Bengal with effect from March 9, 2022, “due to non-compliance of directives of Central Government”, by invoking Section 27 of the MGNREGA, 2005. Since then, no work under the NREGS has happened in the state. Before the scheme’s suspension, West Bengal was among the top states — 51 to 80 lakh families in the state availed it annually between 2014-15 and 2021-22. The total spending under the MG-NREGS in West Bengal was well over Rs 10,000 crore per annum (Rs 10,027 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 10,907 crore in 2021-22).
In June last year, the Calcutta High Court had directed the Centre to resume implementation of the NREGS in West Bengal. However, the Centre challenged the Calcutta HC order in the Supreme Court, which did not interfere in the matter and rejected the Central Government’s Special Leave petition on October 27, 2025. After a setback from the apex court, the Union Ministry of Rural Development issued an order on December 6, 2025 for the resumption of the implementation of the MG-NREGS in Bengal, with “mandatory compliance with the special conditions.” The Centre also requested the state government to submit the Labour Budget proposal for the Financial Year 2025-26 (April-March). However, the TMC government did not send a proposal.
After the TMC government was defeated and the newly elected Suvendu Adhikari government set the ball rolling, following which the EC considered approval of the state’s labour budget.
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While the issue of approval of the labour budget seems sorted out, another point of contention between the Centre and state remains–the pending liabilities.
The West Bengal government sources now say that the total Central share (both actual and projected) could be around Rs 43,000 crore for the MG-NREGS. The projected NREGS dues are calculated based on average annual spending (about Rs 10,000 crore) under the MG-NREGS in the state before it was halted in March 2022. According to the states, a Central share of Rs 24,275 crore is due for PMAY-G. The Centre had stopped release of funds under the rural housing scheme following complaints of alleged irregularities in the implementation of the scheme in the state.
However, the Centre pegs the dues at a much lower level. Responding to a starred question asked by TMC member Jawar Sircar, Chouhan’s predecessor and then Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh on December 06, 2023, informed Rajya Sabha that a total amount of Rs 13,965.91 crore was pending as Central share for two schemes—MG-NREGS and PMAY-G.
According to the sources at the Union Ministry of Rural Development, an amount of Rs 3083 crore was outstanding to West Bengal under the MG-NREGS as on March 9, 2022 and an expenditure of Rs 2,513 crore was incurred by the state government after stoppage of funds by the Centre, taking the total dues to Rs 5,596 crore.
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Ministry of Rural Development has approved Labour Budget of 153 lakh person-days for West Bengal under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS for June 2026.
