The West Bengal government will resume the rural employment scheme under the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Grameen) Act in all districts except Murshidabad and South 24 Parganas, where allegations of irregularities in the implementation of the programme are still under investigation, a senior official said on Monday.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at the state secretariat, the official said.
The VB-G RAM G Act is set to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and is scheduled to come into effect across all states and Union Territories from July 1.
Adhikari directed the concerned departments to expedite the resumption of the rural employment programme in all eligible districts, excluding Murshidabad and South 24 Parganas, the official added.
"These two districts registered the highest number of corruption complaints during the tenure of the previous government. Since investigations and verification of the allegations are underway, the scheme will not be restarted there for now," he said.
The Centre had earlier suspended the release of funds to West Bengal under the scheme following allegations of widespread irregularities during the previous TMC government’s tenure.
The matter also reached the Calcutta High Court after the West Bengal Khet Majoor Samity alleged that wages under the scheme had not been paid in the state since December 2021.
Adhikari, who was then the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, had separately moved the court seeking a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the scheme.
"The chief minister has asked departments to coordinate closely so that work can resume at the earliest in the eligible districts," another official said.
The resumption of the scheme is expected to bring relief to thousands of rural households, particularly ahead of the monsoon season, he added.