New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday alleged that the Narendra Modi government was not paying pending dues of Rs 17,144 crore to the states and Union Territories towards MGNREGA wages.
He also alleged that while the government has ended the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), it has imposed Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) on states, increasing the financial burden on them by 40 per cent.
“Narendra Modi ji, You’ve ended MGNREGA, stripping rural India of the ‘right to work,’ but isn’t it true that — You haven’t paid the states their MGNREGA dues. According to the response presented in the Lok Sabha, Rs 17,144.13 crore was outstanding to 34 states and UTs. (As of March 2026),” he said in a post on X in Hindi.
“This includes Rs 7,846.25 crore in wage liability, meaning workers haven’t received their rightful payment yet. Why?” he asked.
Kharge said that from July 1, the government has imposed a new scheme (VB-G RAM G) on the states, but the central government still has not released the pending MGNREGA payments.
He said Karnataka has Rs 700 crore outstanding, Jharkhand Rs 900 crore, and states like Telangana and Tamil Nadu have not received their due funds.
“In the MGNREGA introduced by Congress, the central government used to bear 100 per cent of the wage costs itself, but now the new scheme has dumped 40 per cent of the total expenditure burden on the states. When BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, along with Jharkhand, are demanding a review of the funding pattern citing heavy financial strain, why is the central government sticking to its guns?” he asked, citing RTI queries.
“When multiple states have strongly opposed the ‘Blackout’ provision that halts work for 60 days during the most critical farming season, why is the central government forcing this anti-labour system on farmers and rural workers?” he also asked.
The Congress chief said to fulfil the promise of 125 days of employment, Madhya Pradesh faces an additional burden of Rs 20,037 crore and Bihar Rs 15,939 crore, and asked, “Is the central government trying to push states into financial crisis just to implement its scheme?” He claimed that at least five states have pleaded for wage hikes.
The Congress party has been demanding Rs 400 daily wages from day one and when Bihar is seeking to raise wages from Rs 255 to Rs 413 and Jammu-Kashmir from Rs 272 to Rs 311, why is the central government hesitating to give workers a dignified wage, he asked.
He also claimed that this June saw 42 per cent less rainfall. Kharif sowing is down 22.7 per cent, he added.
Over 300 districts could be gripped by drought, deepening the crisis of livelihood in rural India, he said.
“In this situation, ending MGNREGA — isn’t it an attack on workers, SCs, STs, OBCs, and the poor? Modi ji, answer this,” Kharge said in his post. PTI SKC SKC KSS KSS KSS
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