Supreme Court Dismisses Centre's Challenge to MGNREGA Implementation Order in West Bengal

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Centre's appeal against the Calcutta High Court's directive to implement MGNREGA in West Bengal from August 1, 2025.

A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta declined to entertain the Centre's challenge to the June 18 high court order, stating that the ruling did not require intervention.

The high court's order specified that the Centre maintains full authority to impose special conditions, restrictions, and regulations specific to West Bengal that may not apply to other states. These measures aim to prevent irregularities during the scheme's implementation in the state.

While permitting the Centre to continue investigating alleged irregularities in certain districts, the high court mandated that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act program be reinstated in West Bengal beginning August 1.

The high court emphasized that its primary concern was to restore the implementation of the scheme, which has been suspended in West Bengal for nearly three years.

The ruling further clarified that the Centre would retain the right to establish additional special conditions to ensure effective and proper implementation without any scope for irregularities or illegal activities.

The high court acknowledged that a central team had identified certain irregularities in the disbursement of funds under this centrally sponsored scheme.

It noted that the MGNREGA framework does not envision a scenario where the scheme would remain indefinitely suspended. The court highlighted that the central government possesses sufficient authority to investigate irregularities or illegalities in wage disbursement processes or approval mechanisms.