All posts tagged: MGNREGS

VB-G RAM G hurdles remain ahead of rollout

VB-G RAM G hurdles remain ahead of rollout

Published by Parlour News

The launch of the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB-G RAM G), which is set to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) from July 1, is grappling with issues such as backlog of unfinished works and opposition from the state governments. The law promises 125 days of statutory wage employment to rural households. Till now, 19 states have officially notified the scheme. (FILE) The new law was originally scheduled to be launched on April 1, but it was pushed back because the portal and technical infrastructure were not ready. States and district administrations have now been given until June 30 to complete all pending MGNREGA works. The law promises 125 days of statutory wage employment to rural households. Till now, 19 states have officially notified the scheme. For example in Rajasthan’s Dungarpur district alone, 5,735 MGNREGA works — excluding PM Awas Yojana and plantation works — remain physically incomplete. Every block in the district has a backlog — Sagwara at 821 pending works, Dovda at 683, …

Centre reviews states’ VB-G RAM G preparedness

Centre reviews states’ VB-G RAM G preparedness

Published by Parlour News

New Delhi: The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) on Saturday reviewed preparedness of states and Union territories for the rollout of the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB-G RAM G), which will replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) from July 1, officials aware of the developments said. Centre reviews states’ VB-G RAM G preparedness The new law raises the statutory guarantee of wage employment for rural households from 100 days to 125 days in a financial year. Unlike MGNREGS, which was demand-driven, the new framework provides for state-wise normative allocations fixed annually by the Centre. The high-level meeting, chaired by MoRD secretary Rohit Kansal, was attended by senior ministry officials and representatives of states and UTs, the officials said. Kansal reviewed key preparatory measures, including notification of state-specific VB-GRAM G schemes, framing of state rules under the Act, technical integration for DBT-SPARSH and SNA-SPARSH payment systems, and preparation of works through the Yuktdhara portal approved by Gram Sabhas through participatory planning. To ensure continuity during the …

MGNREGS workers togo on strike on May 15

MGNREGS workers togo on strike on May 15

Published by Parlour News

AIKS endorsed a set of demands raised by workers’ groups, including the rollback of the VB-G RAM(G) Act, expansion of MGNREGA to at least 200 days of guaranteed work, and a minimum wage of ₹700 linked to inflation. File | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement NREGA Sangharsh Morcha and All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) have called for an all-India strike by Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) workers on May 15, against the government’s decision to discontinue the scheme. The Act will stand repealed on July 1, as per a notification issued by the Union Government on Monday (May 11, 2026). Describing MGNREGA as the “only legal guarantee of employment” for rural workers, AIKS said the scheme has served as a crucial lifeline for poor peasants, agricultural labourers, women, and rural youth. It alleged that budget cuts, “exclusionary technological barriers”, delayed wage payments, and the VB-G RAM (G) Act were undermining the rights-based character of the programme and weakening rural livelihoods. The organisation endorsed a set of demands raised by workers’ groups, including the …

Stalin slams Palaniswami for not raising voice against Centre’s ‘dilution of MGNREGS’

Stalin slams Palaniswami for not raising voice against Centre’s ‘dilution of MGNREGS’

Published by Parlour News

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. File | Photo Credit: N. Thangarathinam Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday (December 23, 2025) accused AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami of spreading falsehoods after being unable to raise his voice against the Centre for diluting the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). In a post on X, Mr. Stalin said even when 100 days of work a year under MGNREGS was guaranteed by law, it was not properly implemented by the BJP government at the Centre, and there were delays in wage payments. “Now, under a new scheme burdened with several conditions, is it really going to provide 125 days of work?” Mr. Stalin wondered. He alleged that the Union government has washed its hands of responsibility and no longer guarantees even a single day of work. “You once claimed to have exerted pressure on your masters not to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme. But what has happened? The Centre does not seem to accord you even the slightest importance,” he said, directing …

Protests mar passage of VB-G RAM G bill in Lok Sabha

Protests mar passage of VB-G RAM G bill in Lok Sabha

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The Lok Sabha on Thursday approved the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) or VB-G RAM G, bill, which seeks to replace the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, by a voice vote amid loud protests by the Opposition. Opposition leaders raise slogans during a protest at the Parliament House complex amid its ongoing Winter session, in New Delhi, Thursday. (PTI) The passage of the contentious bill, which seeks to rejig the federal rural jobs programme, was marked by chaos in the House, with Opposition MPs demanding that it be referred to a standing committee. Shouting slogans against the government, several members entered the Well of the House, tore copies of the bill and flung the papers in the direction of the Chair. Speaker Om Birla rejected the demand to send the bill to a standing committee, saying the legislation had already been discussed at length. “The kind of indecent conduct displayed by the Opposition that tore the pages of the bill and threw them around…is that not an insult …

T.N. CM Stalin slams AIADMK’s ‘silence’ on Centre’s renaming of MGNREGS

T.N. CM Stalin slams AIADMK’s ‘silence’ on Centre’s renaming of MGNREGS

Published by Parlour News

M.K. Stalin. File | Photo Credit: M. Govarthan Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday (December 17, 2025) came down heavily on the Opposition AIADMK’s “silence” over the Centre altering and renaming the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) as the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission–Gramin (VBGRAMG). In a social media post, Mr. Stalin questioned: “What is the AIADMK’s stand on VBGRAMG, which directly affects the rural poor?” He accused AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami of supporting the three farm laws and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and wondered whether he would extend support to VBGRAMG as well. He said the Centre had removed Mahatma Gandhi’s name from MGNREGA and renamed the scheme in Hindi, making it difficult for people to pronounce. “Carrying the name of Perarignar Anna [C.N. Annadurai], who won the battle against Hindi imposition, in the party’s name, should there even be hesitation to oppose this?” he asked the AIADMK. Mr. Stalin said while the Centre would decide the terms and conditions of VBGRAMG, the State …

Kerala seeks withdrawal of ‘VB G RAM G’ Bill replacing MGNREGS

Kerala seeks withdrawal of ‘VB G RAM G’ Bill replacing MGNREGS

Published by Parlour News

Kerala has demanded that the Union government withdraw the new Bill introduced in Parliament to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS), as the proposed legislation is “nothing short of a declaration of war against the ordinary people of the country, jeopardising their livelihoods”. Kerala would be one of the most adversely affected States if the proposed legislation is allowed to become a law because it puts an annual additional liability of ₹1,600 crore on the State, Minister for Local Self-Governments department M.B. Rajesh told reporters here on Tuesday (December 16, 2025). The proposed legislation completely negates the core principles of the employment guarantee programme and represents a total abdication of the Centre’s responsibility of providing employment and shifts 40% of the expenditure burden onto the States, he said The MGNREGS is a flagship programme launched by the UPA government to provide up to 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to rural households willing to undertake unskilled manual work. Implemented in Kerala since 2006, the scheme has been vital …

Lanka Dinakar reiterates statement on misutilisation of MGNREGS funds

Lanka Dinakar reiterates statement on misutilisation of MGNREGS funds

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The misutilisation of funds was revealed by the officials during the review and I stand by my words, says Twenty Point Programme Chairperson Lanka Dinakar. | Photo Credit: File Photo Twenty-Point Programme Chairperson Lanka Dinakar has alleged that the previous YSRCP government had failed to utilise the MNREGS funds and misused the funds. “We are reviewing the implementation of MGNREGS in Andhra Pradesh during the YSRCP’s tenure between 2019 and 2024. We will seek a comprehensive enquiry on the misuse of funds,” Mr. Dinakar told the media here on Saturday (February 22, 2025). BJP Visakhapatnam district president Parasa Rama Raju was also present. Mr. Dinakar said he had been reviewing the implementation of various Centrally-sponsored schemes district-wise between 2019 and 2024. “The review for 15 districts has been completed. We will complete the review for the remaining districts by April 30. We will submit a report to the government,’‘ he said. Mr. Dinakar recently held reviews with the officials of Sri Sathya Sai, Kadapa, Chittoor and Nellore districts. During his review in Nellore, he mentioned …

Odisha, Andhra, Maharashtra Among States With Highest Pending MGNREGS Wages, Govt Tells Lok Sabha

Odisha, Andhra, Maharashtra Among States With Highest Pending MGNREGS Wages, Govt Tells Lok Sabha

Published by Webster

Last Updated:December 04, 2024, 01:52 IST According to a written reply from the union minister of rural development in the lower house of Parliament, 13 states have total pending liabilities of Rs 66,150.28 lakh in wages under MGNREGS in 2024-25 MGNREGS is a demand-driven wage employment scheme. Representational image Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra are among the states with the highest number of fund transfer orders (FTOs), meaning workers’ wages, pending under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the Centre informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. According to a written reply from the union minister of rural development in the lower house of Parliament, 13 states have total pending liabilities of Rs 66,150.28 lakh in wages under MGNREGS in 2024-25. The 13 states include Odisha (Rs 13,904.09 lakh), Andhra Pradesh (Rs 13,767.05 lakh), Maharashtra (Rs 10,317.26 lakh), Assam (Rs 6,572.52 lakh), Mizoram (Rs 4,422.68 lakh), Gujarat (Rs 3,942.01 lakh), Uttarakhand (Rs 3,750.02 lakh), Manipur (Rs 3,715.25 lakh), Jammu and Kashmir (Rs 3,610.19 lakh), Kerala (Rs 1,504.74 lakh), Nagaland (Rs 539.42 lakh), Puducherry …

MGNREGS demand-driven scheme, not possible to fix enrolment targets: Centre

MGNREGS demand-driven scheme, not possible to fix enrolment targets: Centre

Published by Parlour News

File picture of women work under MGNREGS in Odisha. “It may be noted that the total person days generated between FY 2006-07 to FY 2013-14 were 1,660 crore, whereas the total person days between FY 2014-15 to FY 2024-25 has been 2,923 crore,” the Rural Development Ministry said. | Photo Credit: PTI The Rural Development Ministry on Sunday (October 27, 2024) dismissed reports that enrolment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is going down and said it is not possible to fix targets for total enrolment in the demand-driven scheme as the financial year is still going on. According to a report of Libtech India on the implementation of the MGNREGS, there has been an 8-per cent drop in the number of active workers under the scheme compared to last year. The report also said there has been a net deletion of 39 lakh workers, raising concerns about wrongful deletions. While the names of 84.8 lakh workers were deleted, only 45.4 lakh workers were added under the scheme. “Since MGNREGA is …