Ranchi: Senior leaders of the Congress party, together with civil society groups, economists and local activists, met in Ranchi Monday to discuss measures to protect the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and to press for the scheme’s original commitment of 100 days’ work per rural household on demand.
A major concern raised was the central government’s new Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G, which attendees said risks diluting the law’s rights-based character and centralising control over implementation in ways that could make the scheme less responsive to local needs. Demands from the meeting included: No deletion of job cards without approval from the gram sabha, work to be provided whenever it is demanded, wages to be paid on time, among others.
Jharkhand’s Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Dipika Pandey Singh presented the state’s findings from the Kaam Mango Abhiyan conducted between 2 and 5 February 2026 across all 4,080 panchayats, reporting that 1,74,245 people participated, 1,03,158 registered work demands, and 17,914 new job cards were issued. The state generated 1,017.65 lakh person-days.
Among the speakers were Jean Dreze, who spoke about MGNREGA’s role in setting a basic wage standard and providing dignified work; Nikhil Dey of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, who said the scheme had helped the poorest break exploitative labour arrangements and reduced seasonal migration; Dayamani Barla, who called on the central government to withdraw VB-G RAM G and restore MGNREGA in its original form; James Herenz of MNREGA Watch, who urged intensifying the Kaam Mango Abhiyan to create more work; and Congress’s Sandeep Dixit, who warned that altering the rights-based nature of the scheme would weaken workers’ entitlements.
Congress’s K. Raju outlined the next steps. These include running a model Kaam Karo Abhiyan in every MLA’s constituency, creation of a state-level MGNREGA task force, appointment of district coordinators, and holding block-level meetings.