The Centre is looking at various options following the Kolkata High Court’s (HC) order directing it to re-start the stalled Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in West Bengal from August 1, according to senior officials.
They said the order is being studied in detail to understand all the nuances after which a formal stand could be taken.
The Kolkata HC, in an order issued on Wednesday, directed the Centre to resume the MGNREGA scheme in the state that has been stalled since three years, but with some riders.
The Court, while asking the Centre to restart the scheme, also allowed it to impose any condition or restriction that it deems necessary so that corruption that occurred previously is not repeated.
The HC’s order was passed following a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that claimed the poor were being denied their legitimate entitlement under the Act, which guarantees 100 days of employment per year to rural households.
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A division Bench comprising Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Chaitali Chatterjee Das issued the order.
The Bench noted that neither the Centre nor the State had taken any action against those involved in the alleged corruption, which had delayed the scheme’s implementation in West Bengal.
Both the ruling Trinamool Congress and Opposition BJP claimed victory, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saying that the Centre wants to restart all the social welfare programmes stalled in the state since the last three years.
BJP also welcomed the order saying that the control of the scheme will now rest with the Centre, and there won’t be any retrospective payments and genuine beneficiaries will be included in MGNREGS not ghost workers. It added that the order also meant that all recovered money from the mishandling of funds will go back to the consolidated fund of India.
The state, according to some reports, claims that the Centre owes it ？7,500 crore out of which labour wages alone amount to ？2,744 crore. ALSO READ: Making cuts in implementation of MGNREGA crime against Constitution: Kharge
The Left-affiliated All India Agricultural Workers Union said that the verdict is the result of the continued struggles of the agricultural workers of West Bengal and unity of the workers, peasants, and agricultural workers.
The union government had been withholding MGNREGS funds for West Bengal by imposing Section 27 of the Act that allows it to stop funds for violation of rules in implementation of the scheme by the State.
The section was first invoked in December 2021 alleging large-scale corruption and violation of guidelines.
In a parliament reply made in July 2022, the ministry of rural development had acknowledged that on account of non-compliance of its directives, as per provision of Section 27 of MGNREGA, the release of funds to the State of West Bengal has been stopped. At that time, the pending liabilities for MGNREGS wages was estimated at ？2,605 crore.
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Indian money in Swiss banks jumped more than threefold in 2024 to 3.5 billion Swiss francs (CHF), or approximately ？37,600 crore, according to annual figures released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) on Thursday. The sharp increase was mainly due to a significant surge in funds held through local branches and other financial institutions, according to a PTI report.
However, funds in customer deposit accounts of Indian clients rose a modest 11 per cent, reaching CHF 346 million (around ？3,675 crore), making up just one-tenth of total Indian money parked in Swiss banks.
This rise comes after a steep 70 per cent fall in Indian-deposited funds in Swiss banks in 2023, which had dropped to a four-year low of CHF 1.04 billion. The current figures are the highest since 2021, when the total had touched a 14-year peak of CHF 3.83 billion.
The total of CHF 3,545.54 million, categorised by the SNB as the ‘total liabilities’ of Swiss banks towards Indian clients at the end of 2023, includes:
CHF 346 million in customer deposits (up from CHF 310 million) CHF 3.02 billion held through other banks (up from CHF 427 million) CHF 41 million through fiduciaries or trusts (up from CHF 10 million) CHF 135 million in other financial instruments such as bonds and securities (down from CHF 293 million)
These figures are based on official data reported by banks to the SNB. However, they do not reflect the amount of so-called black money and exclude funds held through third-country entities.
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The highest-ever amount stood at nearly CHF 6.5 billion in 2006. Since then, the figures have generally trended downwards, with a few exceptions in years like 2011, 2013, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
According to the SNB, the data includes all forms of funds from Indian clients, including individuals, enterprises and banks, along with figures from Swiss bank branches in India and non-deposit liabilities.
In contrast, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) reported a 6 per cent rise in Indian deposits in Swiss banks in 2024, taking the total to $74.8 million (about ？650 crore). The BIS data is often considered more accurate for measuring individual deposits by Indian citizens.
Previously, such BIS-tracked funds fell by 25 per cent in 2023, 18 per cent in 2022 and 8 per cent in 2021. The last significant increase was in 2020, with a 39 per cent rise. In 2007, the amount had peaked at over $2.3 billion.
Switzerland's stand on 'black money'
Swiss authorities have repeatedly said that funds held by Indian residents in Switzerland should not be automatically viewed as black money. They have assured continued cooperation with India in tackling tax evasion and fraud.
An automatic information-sharing agreement on tax matters has been in place between the two countries since 2018. Under this, detailed account data of Indian residents with Swiss institutions is shared annually, starting from September 2019.
Switzerland has also shared specific account details in several cases where India has provided preliminary evidence of financial wrongdoing. Hundreds of such exchanges have already taken place.
India rises in global ranking
Foreign client funds in Swiss banks fell slightly to CHF 977 billion in 2024, from CHF 983 billion the previous year. However, Indian clients held assets worth CHF 1.59 billion at the end of 2023, about 9 per cent higher than the previous year. India moved up in the global rankings to 48th place, from 67th in 2023, though still slightly below its 46th position in 2022.
The UK led the list of countries with the highest foreign holdings in Swiss banks at CHF 222 billion, followed by the US (CHF 89 billion) and the West Indies (CHF 68 billion). Other top-ranking countries included Germany, France, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Singapore, Guernsey and the UAE.
Pakistan's funds in Swiss banks declined to CHF 272 million from CHF 286 million, while Bangladesh saw a sharp surge, rising from CHF 18 million to CHF 589 million. As in India, discussions over alleged black money in Swiss banks remain politically sensitive in these countries.
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