Parliament Question: Assessment of Infrastructure of Rural Areas

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) (PMAY- G) 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 Page 1 of 3to 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 PMAY- G 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 non- submission 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 Page 2 of 3of 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. ***** Page 3 of 3