NOTHING FAKE ABOUT IT

Amidst furore over non-payment of NREGA funds to Bengal due to alleged corruption, central data purportedly shows almost all job cards in the state to be genuine

- Arkamoy Datta Majumdar

Charges and counter-charges thicken the air in West Bengal as the BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) prepare for a faceoff in the Lok Sabha polls The TMC's biggest weapon against the NDA-ruled Centre is the non-payment of wages due under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) from December 2021. NREGA payments have been frozen under Section 27 of the NREG Act after 16 central teams visited Bengal and found evidence of alleged embezzlement, creation of ghost work, fake job cards (non-existent workers) and other malpractices. The state government denies the charges of irregularities. Now, ironically, crucial data cited in the website of the Union ministry of rural development appears to have strengthened the case of the Bengal government.