Lok Sabha Question No. 2989 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-10
Subject: Assessment of Infrastructure of Rural Areas
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Smt. Pratima Mondal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2989 ANSWERED ON 10/03/2026

## ASSESSMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE OF RURAL AREAS

2989. Smt. Pratima Mondal:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  and reasons  for prolonged withholding or delay of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) funds to West Bengal;
- (b) whether  it  is  true  that  such  actions  directly  affect  wage payments to lakhs of rural workers;
- (c) the  reasons  for  reported  fund  shortages  and  stalled  housing approvals under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) (PMAYG) in West  Bengal  and  the time by which  the pending installments will be released; and
- (d) whether  the  Ministry  assessed  the  poor  infrastructure  and underfunded rural works impact Anganwadi Centres and Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) delivery in remote areas?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

(a) & (b): The release of funds to the State of West Bengal under the Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS) was stopped with effect from 09.03.2022 by  invoking  the  provisions  of  Section  27  of  the  Mahatma  Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, owing to continued non-compliance with the directives of the Central Government by the State.

However, in compliance with the order of the Hon'ble Calcutta High  Court  dated  18.06.2025,  this  Department  has  issued  orders dated  06.12.2025  for  the  resumption  of  the  implementation  of  the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS in the State of West Bengal, which is subject

to  mandatory  compliance  with  the  special  conditions,  so  as  to facilitate the effective and lawful implementation of the Scheme in the  State.  Accordingly,  State  Government  has  been  requested  to submit  the  Labour  Budget  proposal  for  the  current  Financial  Year 2025-26 for consideration of  the  Empowered Committee, Mahatma

Gandhi NREGS, which is awaited despite reminders.

According to NREGASoft, the total pending liability for the State of  West  Bengal  (as  of  08.03.2022)  amounts  to  ₹3082.52  crore, comprising  ₹1457.22  crore  under  the  wage  component,  ₹1607.68 crore  under  the  material  component,  and  ₹17.62  crore  under  the administrative component. The admissibility of this liability is subject to verification by the Central Government.

- (c):          With  regard  to  PMAY-G it  is  stated that under the  PMAY-G, cumulative target of  45.69  lakh  houses  has  been  allocated  to  the State of West Bengal against which the State has given sanctions to 45.69 lakh houses, released first installment of assistance to 34.66 lakh  beneficiaries,  second  installment  of  assistance  to  34.30  lakh beneficiaries and 34.20 lakh houses are completed, as of 05.03.2026.

The Ministry has already released ₹25,798 crore as Central share since 2016-17 till 2021-22 to the State of West Bengal for implementation of the PMAY-G. However, post allocation of target to the State from the finalized Awaas+ 2018 survey lists in November, 2022, complaints regarding irregularities in implementation of PMAYG were received. These complaints were verified through National Level Monitoring (NLM) Teams and Senior Officers Teams. No Central share of funds have been released to the State of West Bengal under the  PMAY-G,  with  the  approval  of  the  competent  authority  in  the Ministry,  during  FY  2022-23  to  2025-26  (till  date)  for  targets  of  FY 2022-23  from  the  finalized  Awaas+  2018  survey  lists  due  to  nonsubmission  of  satisfactory  Action  Taken  Reports  (ATR)  on  the observations of  the  NLM teams  and  Senior  Officers'  Teams  of  the Ministry of Rural Development.

- (d):    Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is  a  demand-driven wage employment scheme and fund release to States/UTs is a continuous process.

It  is  stated  that,  Integrated  Child  Development  Scheme  (ICDS) under which construction of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) is done, is being implemented by Ministry of Child Development.   Construction

of  Anganwadi  Centres  (AWCs)  is  being  done  under  convergence where in an expenditure up to ₹8.00 lakh per AWC unit is permissible under MGNREGS. The balance cost, for construction of AWCs, as per State-specific  estimates,  the  remaining  cost  for  construction  of Anganwadi  Centres  may  be  mobilised  from  the  Integrated  Child Development Scheme of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, or from other schemes/programmes.

The Ministry regularly reviews the performance of the implementation  of  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS  in  States/UTs  through various fora viz., Mid-Term Review, Labour Budget meetings, Labour Budget  Revision  meetings,  Programme  Review  meetings.  Central Employment  Guarantee  Council  and  State  Employment  Guarantee Councils  periodically  monitor  implementation  of  the  programme. State Technical Cell are constituted at various level in the States to regularly monitor the progress of works.

As per the information shared by Ministry of Women and Child Development,  it  is  stated  that  under  PM-JANMAN  (Pradhan  Mantri Janjati  Adivasi  Nyaya  Maha  Abhiyan),  a  total  of  2,500  Anganwadi Centres  (AWCs)  have  been  sanctioned  for  construction  in  PVTG (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups) areas.

Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) launched by  the  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs  (MoTA)  focusses  on  convergence, outreach  and  saturation  in  approximately,  63,843  villages.  Under DAJGUA, 875 AWCs have been sanctioned for construction.

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