MGNREGA to be renamed: A look at the scheme's origin and controversies

The proposed change to rename MGNREGA has triggered political opposition, with the Congress objecting to dropping Mahatma Gandhi's name from one of India's largest rural welfare schemes

The government has proposed major changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), seeking to rename it besides changing the funding pattern.

 

The proposed name, Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission, or VB- G RaM G, is different from the earlier reported plan to rename the scheme as Pujya Bapu Grameen Rozgar Yojana.

 

MGNREGA was originally passed by Parliament on August 25, 2005, as the flagship rural jobs programme. Mahatma Gandhi’s name was added to it in 2009.

 

Let's revisit the origin of MGNREGA and why it has been a bone of contention between the central and state governments.

 

What is MGNREGA?

MGNREGA is a rural employment scheme that guarantees up to 100 days of wage work every year to households whose adult members are willing to do unskilled manual labour. The scheme is aimed at providing income support to poor families, especially in villages, and is implemented through local panchayats.

 

Over the years, it has become one of the government’s largest welfare programmes and a key source of income for rural workers during periods of job distress.  ALSO READ | MGNREGA and the weight of change reignites debate over implementation

What is changing now?

The Viksit Bharat — Guarantee for Rozgar Andajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill proposes changes, including increasing guaranteed employment under the scheme to 125 days from the current 100 days, and revising the funding pattern between the Centre and states to 60:40, compared with the existing arrangement of up to 90:10.

 

The draft Bill also provides greater control to the Centre, allowing it to decide where the scheme will be implemented. At the same time, it would empower states to suspend the scheme for up to two months of their choice, including during the peak harvest season.

 

According to a report by The Hindu, the amended Bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet at its meeting on December 12. However, no formal announcement was made at the Cabinet briefing addressed by Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Centre-state tussle over MGNREGA

MGNREGA has frequently been at the centre of disputes between the Centre and states, mainly over funding delays, implementation issues, and allegations of misuse.

 

One of the most prominent controversies involves West Bengal, where the Union government stopped releasing MGNREGA funds in March 2022, citing non-compliance and alleged irregularities in the scheme’s implementation. Following the funding freeze, wage payments to rural workers under the scheme stopped.

 

On December 4, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman defended the move in Parliament, stating that the state government had issued millions of fake job cards and failed to follow central guidelines. As reported earlier by Business Standard, more than ?3,000 crore in MGNREGA payments to West Bengal remain pending due to the suspension imposed since 2022.  ALSO READ | PM renaming MGNREGA to claim credit for revolutionary scheme: Congress

Low wages, delayed payments

Concerns have also been raised over low wage rates and delays in wage payments under the scheme.

 

According to PRS Legislative Research, an independent non-profit organisation, beneficiaries often face long delays in receiving wages. These delays are largely due to payment failures caused by inactive Aadhaar numbers and bank accounts that are closed, blocked, or frozen.

 

Under MGNREGA, wages are paid by the central government, and workers are entitled to receive their payments within 15 days of the closure of muster rolls after the completion of work.

 

The report also noted that the nominal wages under MGNREGA discourage beneficiaries and propel them to either seek more remunerative work or migrate to urban areas.

 

Additionally, a 2018 report by Down To Earth said that many genuine MGNREGA job cards were being deleted due to pressure on officials to achieve 100 per cent Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) targets. To meet these targets, job cards were often removed without proper checks.

 

In states such as Jharkhand, several genuine workers reportedly lost their job cards and access to wages. In some cases, district officials later had to restore the job cards after civil society groups intervened.

What is the Opposition saying?

The move has triggered strong political reactions, with the Congress opposing the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme and criticising the government for altering the identity of a long-standing welfare programme.

 

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the government has a habit of renaming programmes instead of focusing on their outcomes. He questioned why Mahatma Gandhi’s name, which has been linked to the scheme for years, needed to be dropped and said the change was unnecessary.