40% cost on states under VB-G RAM G Bill to weaken rural jobs: Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi said the proposed VB-G RAM G Bill's 40% cost shift to states would undermine MGNREGA's core principles, weaken rural job security and centralise control over budgets, rules and works

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday warned that a change in the funding pattern under the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025 would weaken rural employment security.

 

In a post on X, Gandhi flagged concerns over a proposed bill, which seeks to replace the UPA-era Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The VB-G RAM G proposes 60:40 funding pattern for the central and state government, which was 90:10 under MGNREGA.

 

According to Rahul Gandhi, this would undermine one of MGNREGA’s fundamental principles: "full wage support by the Central Government and 75 per cent of material costs".

 

"Once funds run out, or during harvest season, workers will be denied employment for months," Gandhi said.

 

The Congress MP added that the changes would also centralise control over the scheme, with budgets, rules and projects dictated by the Centre, unlike autonomy for villages to decide their own development works under MGNREGA.

 

"This new bill is a direct insult to the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. After destroying the future of India’s youth through massive unemployment, the Narendra Modi government is now targeting the secure livelihood of poor rural families," he said while vowing to oppose the "anti-people bill".

 

 

 

Shashi Tharoor opposes VB-G RAM G Bill

Earlier in the day, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also raised a similar concern, saying that the proposed funding pattern threatens to make the entire programme unviable.

 

"The proposal to impose 40 per cent of the financial burden directly on state governments is not merely fiscally irresponsible, it is a measure that threatens to make the entire programme unviable," Tharoor said in Lok Sabha.

 

He further stated that this will lead to delays in wage payments, a reduction in the number of workdays and ultimately, the destruction of the scheme itself.

 

"This is a clear violation of fiscal federalism, which is why I believe we lack the legislative competence to undertake such a change," Tharoor said.

 

What has the govt said?

Addressing concerns raised by the Opposition over the funding pattern, Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said it would not burden states, as their revenues have been rising due to higher goods and services tax (GST) collections, adding that states too would become participants in developing rural India.