New Delhi, Mar 12 (PTI) The Modi government has increased the allocation to the erstwhile rural employment scheme MGNREGA by nearly four times to Rs 8.53 lakh crore as compared to the funds earmarked by the Congress-led UPA regime, BJP member in the Rajya Sabha Bhim Singh said on Thursday.
He was participating in a discussion on the working of Ministry of Rural Development which had implemented the scheme in the UPA regime. It has now been replaced by VB-G RAMG scheme.
Singh said the Centre was not trying to kill the scheme but has brought it back in a revised form as Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–G RAM G) due to the evolving needs with time.
“They (Congress-led UPA government) had not done anything even under MGNREGA about which they keep beating the drum. The budget of MGNREGA during the UPA regime was Rs 11,300 crore in 2006-07, the maximum they did was Rs 33,000 crore in 2013-14, but our government increased it to Rs 86,000 crore in 2025-26 and the G-RAMG that has come now,” Singh said in the House.
He further said under G-RAMG also, a provision of Rs 95,000 crore has been made and if there is any outstanding amount in MGNREGA work, then a provision of Rs 30,000 crore has been made.
“During the 10-year rule of the UPA government, Rs 2.13 lakh crore was released under MGNREGA. Our government, Modi’s government, has allocated Rs 8.53 lakh crore in the last 11 years. This is four times their (UPA’s) allocation. And they say you killed MGNREGA. Why would we kill MGNREGA? We gave it four times more than you did. But times have changed, technology has changed, needs have changed, so we have brought it back as G-RAMG in a revised form,” the BJP member said.
According to the government, the G-RAM G scheme, which has replaced Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, aims to establish a rural development framework aligned with the national vision of ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’. PTI RSN RSN ANU ANU
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