Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 15 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday strongly protested the Union Government’s decision to change the name and structure of the MGNREGA, saying it shows “the level of hatred the Sangh Parivar has” for the name and ideas of the father of the nation.
Reacting to the Central Government’s decision to introduce the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025 that seeks to replace the existing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act , the chief minister said the content of the bill is designed to impose a huge financial burden on the states.
In a Facebook post, Vijayan urged the Union Government to withdraw it.
“The bill formulated by the government does not merely aim at a name change. It attempts to implement a decision that undermines the very fundamental objectives of the employment guarantee scheme,” he said.
He alleged that the agenda behind the bill is to change the scheme from a demand-driven project to an allocation-based project.
“The existing scheme’s structure allowed for providing employment as per the demand of the unemployed. The change being brought in moves towards a system where the Union Government pre-determines the allocation for each financial year for the states based on a few criteria,” he said.
Noting that currently, the Union Government bears 100 per cent of the wage component of the scheme, and the cost of the material component is shared between the central and the state governments in a 75:25 ratio, Vijayan said the bill stipulates that both these components must be shared by the Union Government and the state in a 60:40 ratio.
“If the bill currently introduced becomes law, there will be a significant reduction in the union budget allocation for Kerala. The union government will only contribute 60 per cent of the total expenditure,” he said.
The Centre’s effort is to weaken the employment guarantee scheme, which is the refuge of the poor, in every possible way, the CM alleged.
The VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025 that seeks to replace the existing rural employment law MGNREGA is set to be introduced in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Winter session of Parliament.
According to a copy of the Bill, it will provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work.
Within six months from the date of commencement of the Act, states will have to make a scheme consistent with the provisions of the new law.
The MGNREGA was a 100 per cent centrally sponsored scheme.
While it was a demand-driven scheme with the Union government bound to allocate more money if demand for work was there, under the proposed scheme, the Centre would determine state-wise normative allocation for each financial year.
Any expenditure incurred by a state in excess would be borne by the state government.
The wage rate would be specified by the Central government through a notification. The Bill says it should not be less than the prevailing wage rates under the MGNREGA. PTI TGB TGB SA
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