West Bengal’s 100-day work project is set to resume after a gap of four years. Putting an end to the long-standing tug-of-war between the state and the central government, the Supreme Court told the central government to contribute money to this project and clear pending funds. It also instructed the state to resume work under the scheme from August 1.

The 100-days work scheme refers to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which provides a legal guarantee of at least 100 days of wage employment per financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual labour.

The apex court gave clear instructions that the 100-day work must be resumed in the state from August 1. Strict action must be taken against those who have received wages illegally or under fictitious names. However, the cases of those who have genuinely worked must be considered.

With this order of the Supreme Court, lakhs of labourers in the state are once again seeing a ray of hope. This popular project was on hold for the last three years due to the central government withholding funds. The centre has not given funds to the state for this scheme since 2021 due to allegations of financial irregularities by the state.

Alleged corruption surrounding 100-day work in West Bengal

The 100-day work has been stopped in the state for the last four years, which is being criticised by the ruling Trinamool Congress in Bengal. The 100-day work scheme has been stalled in the state since December 2021. Bengal’s ruling party, the Trinamool Congress, has consistently alleged that the central government has withheld necessary funds for the project due to political vendetta. According to them, this is an attempt to deprive the people of Bengal.

While the centre has alleged that there has been widespread corruption in the money given by the centre for 100 days of work in West Bengal. It alleged that money was transferred to other bank accounts by creating fake job cards and depriving genuine beneficiaries. Citing these corruption charges, the Centre had stopped the allocation of funds. This issue had created a fierce political tussle between the Trinamool and the BJP.

State permitted to resume 100-day work

The Supreme Court on Monday, October 27 upheld the Calcutta High Court’s order, which had asked the state to resume 100 days of work from August 1. The Central government went to the Supreme Court challenging this order of the High Court. On Monday, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court dismissed the Centre’s plea. The bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta told the Centre, “Will you withdraw the case or do we dismiss it?” After that, the court dismissed the case.

As the Supreme Court dismissed the Centre’s plea, the Centre will have to sanction the money for 100 days of work as per the High Court’s order. Apart from this, state can also resume 100 days of work which means at least a 100 days of assured employment for labourers. In this context, lawyer Kalyan Banerjee representing the state said, “Going against the interests of the people of West Bengal, the central government had withheld the money for 100 days of work. The High Court had already given its verdict on this matter. The centre went to the Supreme Court against it. Today, the judges dismissed the centre’s petition in just 30 seconds. People also saw who was withholding the money of the common man.”

Labourers not paid wages since December 2021

The Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity (PBKMS), an independent trade union promoting the rights of agricultural workers to decent wages, work and food in West Bengal had filed a case in Calcutta High Court alleging that wages for 100 days of work were not being paid in the state since December 2021. On Monday, the organisation’s lawyer Vikas Ranjan Bhattacharya said, “The central government had unfairly withheld the money for this project. As a result of the court’s order, the poor people will get work again.”

On June 18, the division bench of the then Chief Justice TS Shivagnanam and Justice Chaitali Chattopadhyay Das of the Calcutta High Court had stated that the Centre can give any condition to the state government to prevent corruption. However, the 100-days work must be resumed in Bengal. The entire project cannot be stopped. The then Chief Justice Shivagnanam told the Centre, “All the complaints related to this are from before 2022. You can take whatever action you want on them. But now the work on the project should be started.” The Centre had approached the Supreme Court against the High Court’s order regarding resuming work under this scheme. On Monday, the Supreme Court dismissed the Centre’s plea and upheld the Calcutta High Court’s order.

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