New Delhi: Claiming that several states have raised concerns over the MGNREGA-substitute VB G RAM G Act, the Congress on Sunday said the new law would guarantee only centralisation and further financial stress on the states.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Modi government, “vengeful and petty” as ever, bulldozed the repeal of MGNREGA through Parliament without any thorough consultation with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development, state governments, or the other relevant stakeholders.
Now it emerges that several states have raised concerns regarding its substitute, VB G RAM G, scheduled for launch on July 1, Ramesh said on X.
Even the BJP-governed states such as Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand have opposed the huge additional expenditure burden that is set to be levied on states once the new law comes into force, he said.
Four other state governments have opposed the blackout period of the scheme during the peak agricultural season, Ramesh said, adding that at least five states have sought a hike in wages for rural workers.
Even Madhya Pradesh, the home state of the Union rural development minister (Shivraj Singh Chouhan), is voicing concerns around the Modi government’s new pet project, Ramesh alleged.
“MGNREGA guaranteed right to work derived from the Constitution. VB G RAM G will guarantee only centralisation and further financial stress on states,” Ramesh said.
The Congress leader also shared a chart on X that listed the “Modi government’s four attacks on your right to work”.
It alleged that through the VB G RAM G Act, the government is “attacking” the right to work, right to fair wages, Panchayati Raj and state finances.
The Congress alleged that the only guarantee the law offers is that of “extreme centralisation” and “weakening of the bargaining power of rural labour”.
The Centre has announced that the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, or the VB G RAM G Act, will come into force across the country from July 1, replacing the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
The new Act will have a fresh framework that promises 125 days of statutory wage employment to rural households.
