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).
“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.
‘Don’t want your mercy’
At the public meeting on Tuesday (December 9), the Chief Minister said that West Bengal does not want to depend on the mercy of the Centre. “I say this piece of paper is valueless. We will come back to power. Under Karmashree, we are providing 70 days of work. We will increase it to 100 days. We don’t want your mercy. That is why I am tearing the note. I feel it is disrespectful,” the Trinamool Congress chairperson told the gathering. Karmashree is a scheme introduced by the West Bengal Government to provide rural employment in the State.
Ms. Banerjee also claimed that a large sum of money remains pending from the Centre under the rural jobs scheme. The blocked funds are among the key issues highlighted by the Trinamool Congress while targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government at the Centre. The BJP has responded by saying that there is significant corruption in the implementation of such schemes in the State.
West Bengal has witnessed a huge migration of rural workers over the past few years, due to the lack of jobs in the State. The State’s NREGA SangharshMorcha has threatened protests if the scheme is not resumed by the end of this month.
