New Delhi [India], December 21 (ANI): Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday criticised the Centre over the passage of the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RAM-G Bill), alleging that the government has overturned two decades of progress achieved under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) without adequate consultation or adherence to parliamentary conventions.
Sharing details from an anthology report on MGNREGA, Ramesh recalled the outcomes of the landmark law enacted on September 5, 2005, which provides rural households a legal right to 100 days of wage employment to enhance livelihood security. He referred to the MGNREGA Sameeksha Report (2012), released during the tenure of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, which assessed the implementation and impact of the scheme between 2008 and 2012.
According to the report, the government paid approximately Rs 1.10 lakh crore in wages to rural households and generated nearly 1,200 crore person-days of employment during the assessment period.
On average, around five crore rural households received employment every year since 2008. The report further noted that nearly 80 per cent of payments were made directly into bank or post office accounts, leading to the opening of about 10 crore new accounts and strengthening financial inclusion in rural areas.
The Sameeksha Report also highlighted that the average wage per person-day under MGNREGA increased by 81 per cent since the scheme’s inception, with notified wages ranging from Rs 122 in Bihar and Jharkhand to Rs 191 in Haryana at the time of the assessment. In terms of social inclusion, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 51 per cent of total person-days of employment, while women constituted 47 per cent, exceeding the mandatory requirement of 33 per cent participation.
According to the report, 146 lakh works have been taken up, of which about 60 per cent have been completed. Of these, 19 per cent were connected to rural connectivity, 25 per cent to water conservation and harvesting, 14 per cent to irrigation canals and renovation of traditional water bodies, 13 per cent each to flood protection and drought-proofing and land development, and 14 per cent were connected to works on private lands belonging to small and marginal farmers, SCs, STs, BPL households, IAY and land reform beneficiaries.
In the light of sharing this report, the Congress MP alleged that the ruling government, by passing the VB-G RAM-G Bill, has overturned two decades of progress and sidestepped established parliamentary conventions and procedures.
“On July 14 2012, Dr. Manmohan Singh released MGNREGA Sameeksha, bought out by the Ministry of Rural Development. This was an anthology of 145 field studies conducted on MGNREGA between 2008 and 2012 – including one by the CAG. It makes for required reading now, amidst the desecration of this groundbreaking law in Parliament over the last week. Two decades of progress have been overturned without consultation and by sidestepping all Parliamentary convention and procedure,” wrote Jairam Ramesh.
Earlier, the Congress general secretary slammed the government’s hasty passage of the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RAM G Bill), which reframes MGNREGA, amid uproar in both Houses of Parliament.
He contrasted the bill’s introduction, details of which he claims the opposition knew only days prior, against MGNREGA’s enactment in 2005, which involved years of deliberation, a Standing Committee review, and unanimous bipartisan support.
He contrasted this with the thorough process that led to the enactment of MGNREGA.
Earlier, the Parliament passed the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–G RAM G) Bill, with the Rajya Sabha approving the legislation, which was earlier passed in the Lok Sabha.
The Bill guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household, up from the existing 100 days, for adult members willing to undertake unskilled manual work.
As per Section 22 of the Bill, the fund-sharing pattern between the Centre and the states will be 60:40. For the Northeastern states, Himalayan states, and Union Territories, including Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, the ratio will be 90:10. Section 6 of the Bill allows state governments to notify in advance a period aggregating up to 60 days in a financial year, covering peak agricultural seasons such as sowing and harvesting. (ANI)
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