New Delhi: The Union government in a written reply in parliament detailing state-wise pending liabilities under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) omitted West Bengal, in a move that has been described as “erasure” of the state by the Trinamool Congress (TMC), and “extraordinary, unprecedented and unacceptable” by the Congress.

In the same reply, the government sought to explain the “mismatch in registered households and actual work provided” by saying that the scheme is “demand-driven” and a “fall back option when no better employment opportunity is available”.

The government’s reply came in response to a question by TMC MP Derek O'Brien, who sought to know the details of pending funds since 2022 under the wages, material and administrative component, state-wise and year-wise.

Union rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that in the current financial year (as of July 21), an amount of Rs 44,479.79 crore has been released to the states, including 100% of pending wage liabilities as well as 50% of pending material liabilities from FY 2024-25.

“There is no pending liability for [the] admin component under the scheme,” he said.

However, in the list detailing the pending liabilities for the wages and material component under the scheme, the government listed all 33 states and Union territories but left out West Bengal.

This amounts to an “erasure of Bengal,” the TMC said in a statement.

It added: “When asked about pending wage and material dues under MGNREGA, the Modi govt completely excluded Bengal from the list. You withhold our funds. You arrest and deport our people. But now you want to wipe Bengal off your records? You may control Delhi, but you don’t own India. And you sure as hell don’t own Bengal.”

Congress MP and the party's general secretary in charge of media Jairam Ramesh said that the government's move to exclude West Bengal was “extraordinary, unprecedented and unacceptable”.

“The Union Minister of Rural Development circulates an answer giving the sought-for data for 33 states and UTs. But data for only one state – West Bengal – has NOT been provided. Why? This is extraordinary, unprecedented and unacceptable,” he said.

This comes as the TMC-led West Bengal government has been demanding that the funds under the scheme be released to the state.

In March, a parliamentary standing committee recommended that funds not released to West Bengal be released at the earliest.

“The Committee recommended that West Bengal receive its rightful dues for all eligible years, except for the year currently under dispute in court. Additionally, the pending payments must be released without delay to ensure that ongoing rural development projects are not stalled and that intended beneficiaries do not suffer due to financial constraints,” it said.

Since 2021, the BJP-led Union government has stalled funds to West Bengal citing irregularities in the scheme's implementation.

In June, the Calcutta high court directed the Union government to resume the scheme in the state and said that the scheme cannot be kept in “cold storage”.

‘Mismatch in registered households and actual work provided’

In the same question, O’Brien sought to know whether there was a mismatch in official data, as the number of households registered under the scheme – which provides 100 days guaranteed work to rural households – rose by 8.6% between the financial years of 2023-24 and 2024-25, “even as the average days of employment per household fell to 7.1% and the average workdays per person dropped 4.3%”.

According to data provided by Chouhan, the number of registered households increased from 14.81 crore in 2023-24 to 15.99 crore in 2024-25.

However in the same period, the average days of employment per household decreased from 52.08 days to 50.23 days.

The total number of individuals who worked also dropped in the same period from 8.34 crore to 7.88 crore.

“Here it may be noted that Mahatma Gandhi NREGS is a demand-driven wage employment scheme. It is a fall back option when no better employment opportunity is available,” Chouhan said.

He also said that the government has initiated several programmes to generate awareness about the scheme, including appropriate information, education and communication campaigns; expanding the scope and coverage of the demand registration system to ensure that demand for work under the scheme does not go unregistered; preparing plans in a participatory mode and approving them in the gram sabha; as well as organising ‘Rozgar Diwas’.

As per data collated by NGO LibTech, the average days of employment per household fell by 4.3% between FY2023-24 and 2024-25, while the total number of persondays generated fell by 7.1%.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.