The Calcutta High Court on June 6 asked the Union Government and the West Bengal Government to submit reports on the non-payment of wages to workers enrolled in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme in the State.
Noting that the 2005 Act was aimed at enhancing livelihoods in rural areas, a Division Bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya observed that the “object of the scheme has to be fulfilled by concerned authorities”. The court said that if, in the opinion of the Central Government, there has been misappropriation of funds, then the endeavour of the authorities should be to “separate the chaff from the grain”.
