Bengal panchayat minister Pradip Majumdar has sought an appointment with Union rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the Mamata Banerjee dispensation fears that Bengal will be deprived of funds under the 100-day rural employment guarantee scheme in the next financial year, too.

“As they (the Centre) did not ask us to send proposals for the labour budget, we are apprehensive of being deprived of the MGNREGA funds in the next financial year also. I have sought an appointment with the Union rural development minister to place our demand,” said Majumdar.

The apprehension of being deprived of the important scheme in the 2025-26 financial year was fuelled by the fact that state government officials were not invited to Delhi to attend a pre-budget meeting with the rural development ministry to determine the labour budget of Bengal under the MGNREGA for the next fiscal.

The central ministry did not seek formal proposals from Bengal to allot a labour budget under the scheme. At the same time, all other states had already sent their proposals in this regard.

The Narendra Modi government has stopped releasing funds under the 100-day job scheme to Bengal since April 2022, alleging misappropriation of the grants. The Bengal government alleged that the Centre did not clear ₹3,000 crore, the cumulative wages of labour under the scheme between January and March 2022. The state government had to pay the due wages worth ₹2,700 crore to nearly 59 lakh job card holders in late 2023 and early 2024 because the Centre refused to release the funds.

Senior bureaucrats at Nabanna said the mandatory pre-budget meeting between the executive council of the 100-day job scheme and the state government officials was usually held by December end. As the state government officials were not asked to attend the latest meeting, it was almost certain that no labour budget would be allotted for Bengal in the Union budget.

If any state is not allotted funds under the labour budget, it hints that the 100-day job scheme would not be implemented in the state in the given financial year.

“Last year also, Bengal was not allotted any funds under the labour budget of MGNREGA and that was why no job card holder could be given jobs under the scheme,” said an official.

Trinamool Congress insiders said seeking the appointment with the Union minister over the MGNREGA funds was a calculative move by the ruling establishment in Bengal.

“It would put pressure on the Centre as the state was being deprived of the funds over the past three years. Furthermore, the state government has accepted almost all recommendations made by the Centre,” said a ruling party leader.

If the Centre does not release funds despite the representation from the state panchayat minister, the TMC can use the issue as a weapon against the BJP in the Assembly polls in 2026. But before that, the state would leave no stone unturned to get the funds from the Centre to run the job scheme here.

“Because of the Centre’s decision of not releasing funds under the scheme, about ₹10,000 crore disappeared from the rural economy. It leaves an impact. The impact was minimised only because of the chief minister’s efforts to transfer funds directly to the beneficiaries under various schemes. If the Centre deprives us of the job funds again, it would affect the rural populace,” said the panchayat minister.