NDA's MGNREGA replacing law sets stage for political skirmishes in '26

New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) The rural jobscape is set to change in the future, and more politically contentious, as 2025 became the year when the two-decade-old MGNREGA, brought during the first UPA government, was replaced by the Viksit Bharat- Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Act, or VB-G RAM G, as the government dubbed it.

The law met with protests from opposition parties in Parliament, as well as activists outside it, who argued that it alters the rights-based approach in the earlier Act.

Removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the original Act also met with vociferous denunciation by the Opposition.

In defence, Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan slammed critics and dismissed their objections as "misinformation" against the VB-G RAM G Act, which, he said, is a step ahead of MGNREGA.

According to the Rural Development Ministry, the VB-G RAM G Act is aimed at establishing a "future-ready, convergence-driven, saturation-oriented rural development architecture." The government argued that it aims to transform rural employment from a standalone welfare intervention into an integrated instrument of development.

While the MGNREGA provided for 100 days of wage labour, the VB-G RAM G Act provisions 125 days of work, which, the government said, enhances the "guarantee" for work.

Activists, however, argued that even under the MGNREGA, workers, on average, got around 50 days of work.

According to a reply by the Rural Development Ministry to a written question in Rajya Sabha in the Winter Session, in 2024-25, the average of employment provided per household under MGNREGA was 50.24 days.

The new Act, the government said, is explicitly aligned with the creation of durable public assets across four priority thematic domains — water security and water-related works, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, and extreme weather events mitigation.

All work originates from the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans (VGPPs), prepared at the gram panchayat level through participatory processes and approved by the gram sabha, and would be digitally and spatially integrated with national platforms, including PM Gati Shakti.

The MGNREGA was a demand-driven scheme, which meant the additional funds had to be provided if there was demand for work. The VB-G RAM G Act provides for normative allocation to states, and any expenditure beyond it has to be borne by the state.

While under the old Act, the Centre bore 100 per cent of the wage cost, and 75 per cent of the material cost, the VB-G RAM G provides for a cost-sharing pattern of 60:40 between the Centre and states, 90:10 for North Eastern and Himalayan States, and 100 per cent central funding for Union Territories without legislatures.

Activists have said the pattern weakens the law and puts additional burden on states, and will eventually lead to people not getting work.

Chouhan, however, said the allocations would be sufficient under the scheme for employment to be provided.

The VB-G RAM G talks about a comprehensive digital ecosystem, including biometric authentication, global positioning system or mobile-based worksite monitoring, proactive public disclosures, and AI for planning, audits and fraud risk mitigation, which will be used to modernise governance, accountability and citizen engagement.

LibTech India, a consortium of academics, researchers and activists working on the MGNREGA, warned against "MIS-isation" of welfare delivery.

It said over time, implementation processes became heavily dependent on digital workflows and system compliance, to the extent that activities not reflected in the MIS were often treated as if they had not occurred at all, leading to denial of rights, delayed grievance redress, and "invisibilisation" of genuine work.

With corruption under MGNREGA being one of the top concerns that the government seeks to address through technological interventions, the activists pointed out that social audits and public hearings, which were designed to address corruption under the old Act, were "under-funded and weakened." NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, a platform of workers' collectives engaged in public action on the scheme, said the VB-G RAM G Act represents a fundamental shift from a rights-based law that provides an enforceable entitlement to a budget-constrained scheme without any accountability of the Union Government.

Activists also flagged that the law gives discretionary powers to the Centre. The Congress said it would start a nationwide campaign against this from January 5.

Left parties gave a call for protest against the new Act on December 22, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab called a one-day special session of the assembly to oppose the VB-G RAM G Act.

Protests were held under the banners of the NSM and other outfits, with trade unions and farmer organisations, including the SKM, extending support to the protests against the repeal of the MGNREGA with the VB-GRAMG Act.

Meanwhile, Chouhan said an amount of Rs 1,51,282 crore would be allocated for the VB-G RAM G scheme so that there is no shortage of funds for rural employment. PTI AO VN VN