Centre planned to modify MGNREGA over repeated complaints: Shivraj Chouhan

Government introduces VB G-RAM-G bill in Parliament to replace MGNREGA amid strong opposition protest

The Union government did not take the decision to replace MGNREGA with Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (GRAMIN) or VB- G RaM G in a huff but was working on the same since the last year and half as lots of mismanagement and leakages had creeped into MGNREGA despite best attempts to better it, rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said today.

 

He said that apart, the Centre was spending a considerable sum of funds for MGNREGA which was almost Rs 86,000 crore in Fy-25, but it was not helping in developing villages in tune with the idea of a developed India by 2047, which also prompted it to go for the overhaul.

 

 

Talking to a select group of reporters today before tabling the bill in Parliament Chouhan said that states will be given six months’ time to transition from the old MGNREGA to the new and Centre intends to roll out the new scheme from April 1, 2026 across India.

 

He said in the new scheme, the Centre will be sharing a higher proportion of the total budget estimate of around Rs 151,000 crore which is around Rs 96,000 crore from the coming financial year which is 2026-27 as against the existing Rs 86,000 crore.

 

“All these estimates are based on full demand from across the country for 125 days of work starting from next financial year,” Chouhan said.

 

He later introduced the bill in Parliament that seeks to replace the existing rural employment law MGNREGA, amid strong objections by the opposition to the "removal" of Mahatma Gandhi's name from it.

 

Chouhan while introducing the bill said that the government not only believes in Mahatma Gandhi but also follows his principles. "The (Narendra) Modi govt has done more for rural development than previous governments," he said.

 

"If changing name was akin to insulting the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, then Congress insulted the legacy of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru when they changed the name of Jawahar Rozgar Yojana to MGNREGA," Chouhan said

 

Opposition members strongly opposed the proposed legislation at the introduction stage and pressed for sending the bill to a parliamentary panel for greater scrutiny. The MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi of the Congress, strongly objected to the "removal" of Mahatma Gandhi's name.

 

The opposition members also came to the Well of the House, holding up photographs of Mahatma Gandhi, expressing their disapproval of the "removal" of the name of the Father of the Nation.

 

In a statement, the Rural Development Ministry said the proposed legislation will establish a modern statutory framework aligned with the goal of 'Viksit Bharat 2047'.

 

It said the Bill aims to create both employment and durable rural infrastructure through four priority verticals -- water security through water-related works, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, and special works to mitigate extreme weather events.

 

All assets created are aggregated into the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack, ensuring a unified, coordinated national development strategy, the statement said.

 

Chouhan meanwhile talking to reporters said the endeavour of the government will be to get the Bill passed in the current session of Parliament itself so that states have adequate time for transition from the old scheme to the new.

 

He said the basic objective of the new scheme will be to develop poverty-free, modern, developed villages with adequate employment opportunities.

 

On the criticism among states that it will out unnecessary burden on their exchequer as the funding pattern has been changed to 60:40 from the existing 90:10, Chouhan said it won’t be burden on the states as their revenue collections has been rising due to higher GST collections and they too will become participants in developing rural India.

 

“Also, it must be remembered that the Centre too is sharing a higher burden from Rs 86,000 crore to almost Rs 96,000 crore now,” Chouhan said. Also, administrative expenditure on the scheme has been raised from 6 per cent to 9 per cent which will help in digitisation and more

 

On how will the expanding of guaranteed workdays from 100 to 125 days help in generating more employment opportunities in villages when traditionally the average number of workdays has hardly crossed 50-55 days so far under MGNREGA, Chouhan said that there are around 40 lakh households roughly 2 crore individuals who work for 100 days in a year at present.

 

“This means that these 40 lakh families will immediately get the benefit of an extra number of work days. Plus, when people know that more workdays are guaranteed, I’m sure the worker participation will increase,” Chouhan said.

 

He said that the new scheme G RAM G, will ensure those funds from the Central government are uniformly distributed among all panchayats as they would grade A, B and C based on their performance and spending capacities.

 

“It was noticed that many times, panchayats which had a large tribal population got left out from MGNREGA while those closer to big cities benefited more. All this will now stop in the new scheme,” Chouhan said.

 

On normative allocation to each state by the Centre, Chouhan said criteria for such funding will be determined in consultation with NITI Aayog and states.

 

The minister also said separate employment cards will be made for ‘divyangs’, old and infirm workers and also SC and STs to ensure that benefits of the new scheme percolates down to the poorest of the poor.