Supreme Court has upheld the Calcutta High Court’s directive to resume the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in West Bengal.

• The scheme had been suspended in the State by the Centre in 2022, citing irregularities in wage disbursement and implementation.

• The Calcutta High Court, in June 2025, ruled that the suspension violated the “Right to Work” under the MGNREGA Act, 2005, and ordered immediate resumption of payments and works.
• The Union Government appealed to the Supreme Court, but the apex court dismissed the petition on October 28, 2025, effectively restoring the scheme’s operations in the State.

About MGNREGA 

• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is the world’s largest employment guarantee programme, aiming to enhance livelihood security by providing at least 100 days of wage employment each year to rural households whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
• Launch: MGNREGA was enacted in 2005 and came into force on February 2, 2006.
  • It is a rights-based framework that legally guarantees rural employment, making the government accountable for providing jobs on demand.
• Implementation: The scheme is implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) in partnership with state governments.
  • Gram Panchayats play a crucial role in planning and executing projects under MGNREGA, ensuring that local needs guide the nature of work undertaken.
• Funding Structure
  • MGNREGA is primarily funded by the Central Government, which bears 100% of the cost of unskilled labour and 75% of the material cost.
  • State governments contribute the remaining 25% of the material cost and are responsible for unemployment allowances when work is not provided within 15 days of demand.

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How MGNREGA Wage Rates are Determined? 

• Section 6 of the MGNREGA Act outlines two methods:
  • Section 6(1): The Centre can notify the wage rate, which must not be lower than Rs 60, irrespective of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (MWA).
  • Section 6(2): Until the Centre notifies a wage rate, the state’s minimum agricultural wage is to be adopted.
• Initially, from 2005 to 2009, MGNREGA wages matched the states’ minimum agricultural wages.
• However, rising costs led the Centre to cap MGNREGA wages at Rs 100 in 2009, causing divergence from the minimum wages and violating the MWA.
• Since 2011-12, MGNREGA wages have been indexed to the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), but the base year remains outdated (2009).

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