Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has accused the government of effectively ending the legal employment guarantee under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) through the new Viksit Bharat - Grameen Roigar Abhiyan Mission (VB-G RAM G). He described the wage rates announced under the mission as “unjustifiably low.”
Expert committee recommendations ignored
Ramesh pointed out that an expert committee headed by Dr. Anoop Satpathy, which was constituted by the Modi government itself in 2019, had recommended a national minimum wage floor of Rs 375 per day. However, the current wage rates under VB-G RAM G fall short of this recommendation. “The government has chosen to ignore its own expert panel’s advice, undermining the very purpose of MGNREGA,” Ramesh said in a statement.
Impact on rural employment
MGNREGA guarantees 100 days of wage employment per year to rural households. Critics argue that the new mission dilutes this guarantee by replacing it with a less binding framework. According to Ramesh, the new scheme does not provide the same legal entitlement, leaving rural workers vulnerable to fluctuating wages and uncertain employment. “This is a direct attack on the rights of the rural poor,” he added.
Government’s position
The government has defended VB-G RAM G as a more comprehensive approach to rural development, integrating skill development and asset creation. However, opposition parties and labor rights activists have raised concerns over the reduction in wage rates and the removal of the legal guarantee. The Ministry of Rural Development has yet to respond to the specific allegations.
