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Kolkata, Nov 7 (IANS) A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the Center to file an affidavit explaining how it planned to release the pending funds to the West Bengal government for the 100-day job scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Smita Das Dey of the Calcutta High Court directed the Central government to file an affidavit in the case within the next four weeks.
As per the Division Bench’s direction, the petitioners in the case alleging the Central government willfully withheld funds under the MNREGA scheme for West Bengal will have to file their arguments on the affidavit filed by the Center two weeks after the date of filing of the affidavit. After this the next hearing will be held in the case.
Recall that the Central Government had stopped making payments under the MNREGA scheme for the last three years, after which a political tussle started between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP.
The central government said the payment of funds was stopped amid massive corruption in the implementation of the scheme. In June this year, the Calcutta High Court, acting on a petition filed by Paschim Banga Khet Mojoor Samiti, an organization of agricultural workers in the state, directed the Central government to pay the pending MNREGA funds to West Bengal.
The Calcutta High Court then said that if necessary, the central government can set conditions for payment of MNREGA funds to West Bengal, but cannot stop payments in this regard.
In July this year, the Central Government had challenged the order of the Calcutta High Court in the Supreme Court. Last month, a division bench of the apex court comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta upheld the Calcutta High Court order and refused to interfere in the case.
–IANS
Source/Red