Overview
- The Supreme Court on October 27 dismissed the Centre’s appeal, leaving intact a Calcutta High Court order for prospective resumption of MGNREGA in West Bengal from August 1, 2025 with scope for special conditions.
- The Rural Development Ministry has informed the Prime Minister’s Office that it may consider restarting the scheme under special conditions, according to reporting that the PMO sought and received a brief on the issue.
- West Bengal’s Panchayat and Rural Development Department has directed districts to verify job-card details and complete e-KYC updates to ready the programme’s rollout.
- NREGA Sangharsh Morcha and allied groups warned of protests if work does not restart in the state by December 2025, calling the prolonged halt a defiance of court orders.
- The Centre suspended funds to West Bengal on March 9, 2022 under Section 27, halting work in a state that previously saw 51–80 lakh families use the scheme annually and had about 2.56 crore job cards.