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On March 9, 2022, the Indian government froze funds for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in West Bengal, citing irregularities in implementation.
The fund freeze led to significant protests from worker and vendor unions, highlighting the immediate negative impact on employment and livelihoods.
On September 23, 2024, the Calcutta High Court ruled that MGNREGS must continue operating while investigations into the alleged irregularities are conducted.
Severe Employment Decline: An 82% drop in FY 2022 and a 100% drop in FY 2023 in the number of workers compared to previous years.
In contrast, neighboring states saw a reduction of only 12% to 20%.
Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) participation plummeted from 24% to 10% (SC) and 8.4% to 4.8% (ST) between FY 2022 and FY 2023.
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