Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in West Bengal Halts due to Funding F freeze

• The Central government halted the transfer of funds for the MGNREGS program in West Bengal on March 9, 2022, due to implementation irregularities.
• The halt led to protests by worker and vendor unions.
• The Calcutta High court ruled in September 2024 that the scheme must continue to operate despite the investigation.
• Data shows a severe impact on all stakeholders, with a sharp drop in the number of individuals working under MGNREGS between FY 2021 and FY 2022 and between FY 2022 and FY 2023.
• The share of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) households reduced sharply between FY 2022 and FY 2023, while other households rose from 68% to 85%.
• The number of completed works shrank from 10.7 lakh in FY 2019 to just 22,000 in FY 2023, indicating a cascading effect of the funding freeze.
• MGNREGS expenditure fell from ₹7,240 crore in FY 2019 to ₹183 crore in FY 2023.
• The share of wage, material, and administration expenditure over time flipped in 2023 due to a sharp collapse in wage payments and a lack of material payments to vendors.