After a prolonged deadlock marked by legal battles in the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court, and sustained tensions between the Centre and the state, the 100-day work scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is finally set to resume in West Bengal. Administrative indications suggest that the scheme could become operational from February.
In preparation, the state Panchayat Department has instructed all districts to draw up a labour budget for February and March. The directive has already been communicated to the block level through district administrations, signalling the first concrete move towards restarting the scheme after a long hiatus.
According to administrative sources, the Commissioner overseeing the 100-day work scheme in the state recently issued a letter to the District Magistrates of all districts, directing them to prepare and submit the labour budget to the state at the earliest. Following this, Block Development Officers (BDOs) have been asked to gather relevant data and formulate work plans. An official from West Midnapore said that districts have been instructed to select the nature of work and projects strictly in line with new guidelines, adding that all projects that existed earlier may not be continued.
While the NREGA scheme continued uninterrupted in most other states, it had remained virtually suspended in West Bengal for a considerable period. The central government had alleged large-scale corruption in the implementation of the scheme, while the state government argued that the entire state was being penalised for a few isolated irregularities.
The dispute eventually reached the courts, where it was clearly observed that beneficiaries of a state could not be deprived of a central welfare scheme in such a manner. Despite the court’s observations, uncertainty persisted over the resumption of work until a letter issued by the state Panchayat Department Commissioner on January 16 indicated that preparations for restarting the scheme had begun.
“As per the new schedule laid down by the department, the list of proposed projects is to be finalised at the Panchayat level by January 21. These projects must then be approved in a special Gram Sabha meeting on January 22. Following block-level approval on January 27, the proposals are to be forwarded to the district administration. Districts are required to send the finalised lists to the state by January 30, while February 2 has been set as the deadline for project registration at the state level,” said an official of the state Panchayat Department.
Officials have cautioned that failure to adhere to this timeline could create hurdles in project approval.
This time, project approval norms have been significantly tightened. No project with an estimated cost exceeding Rs 20 lakh will be cleared, and no more than ten projects will be allowed to run simultaneously in a single Gram Panchayat. In addition, mandatory approval from the District Magistrate or the District Programme Coordinator has been introduced.
The guidelines also emphasise the creation of permanent assets. Work that does not result in durable infrastructure is to be avoided, and activities such as pond excavation, irrigation canal renovation, and earthmoving have been excluded from the action plan.
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