The right to livelihood is a fundamental right that flows from article 21 of the constitution. Any executive action that seeks to curtail a fundamental right must pass the proportionality test as laid down and consistently emptyed by the Supreme Court in a series of cases like for the deemociation for deemociation. Union of India (2024). The test requires that any such Executive Measure hold a legitimate objective and follow suitable means. It also also mandates the use of an equally effective alternative. The impact on the individual’s right must not be out of proportion to the objective being pursued.

The irregularities were found in only a few of the west Bengal’s more than 3300 gram panchayats. Inssead This action was neither the last restrictive nor proportion to the objective that was being pursued. Hence, it failed the proportionality test on both cuts.

Section 27 of the act empowers the centre to stop the funds under the mgnrega scheme as a last resort in cases of proven irregularities. But it also places a corresponding Duty on it to employ Remedial Measures in a time-bound manner and resume implementation of the scheme with a reasonable period of time. However, in this case, even more than three years, the centre failed to resume funding. There, the HC rightly Held: “The scheme of the act does not environment a situation where it would put to cold storage for eternity.” Section 27 Balances Accountability with Livelihood – That Balance was breached in this case. The HC’s order is a reaffirmation in the executive of their discretionary power can be beyond statutory or constitutional limits.

Corruption is grave but not uncommon in our country. But should have the vulnerable people suffer due to corruption at higher levels? The funding was stopped at a time when the mgnrega could have been a coping mechanism, escaped mechanism, especially for the three rural workers who had had due to covid. Unpaid wages and no new work in sight forced them further towards a vious cycle of poverty, indebtedness, migration and malnutrition.

The deprivation of the state and its population doesnat stop in mnrega; It extends to other central schemes as well. The ministry of rural development has informed a parliamentary panel that alMost Rs 8,000 crore is yet to be released under the pradhan mantri awas yojana-gramin (pma-g) for west. In 2023, the state accused the centre of stopping funds for integrated child development services (ICDS) and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY). However, the union minister smriti Irani refuted these allegations, say that the state government was misusing funds and Rs 260 crore “Justice Lying Unused”. West Bengal is also one of the three states in the country that refused to comply with the PM shri scheme and as a result, has not been receiving any funding for the samagra shiksha shcheme (2024-25).

Howver, The State Government’s Response has been very confusing. Apart from Playing the Victim, it has rarely seen to pursue logical or legal action. Often, it rushed to launch the state equivalent of the schemes that are blocked by the centre. This happy even in the case of MGNREGA. The state launched the karmashree scheme in 2024, under which every Mgnrega job cardholder household is supposed to get 50 days of work in a year. Launched just before the general elections, in no way, does it match the meticulous provisions of MGNREGA. For Instance, Karmashree does not have any separately allocated budget |

While the HC order comes as an immediate response to the state 257 Lakh Registered Nrega Workers, Governances should read its larger message “Weaponising Schemes”. That corruption will not be tolerated is explicit in the order, as the HC empowed the centre to impose special conditions on the state so that past is not recur. But that is worth that people’s lives and livelihoods Could be compromised. With the assembly elections scheduled Next year, the order has been hailed as a victory by bot Politics of Welfare Further.

Chakraborty is a kolkata-based lawyer and paul is a researcher at tiss