6 months ago
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The Union authorities has written to the Chief Secretaries of each States and Union Territories, asking them to organise peculiar gram sabha meetings to “create wide consciousness regarding cardinal provisions and ineligible rights” nether the newly-enacted Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgaar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025.
The caller jobs warrant scheme, hailed by the Union authorities arsenic a “historic” portion of authorities “aligned with the nationalist imaginativeness of Viksit Bharat @ 2047”, was introduced and passed successful Parliament during this Winter Session, replacing the 20-year-old MGNREGA amidst protests and objections from crossed Opposition parties, scholars, and activists.
On December 21, the Secretaries of the Department of Rural Development and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj jointly signed a missive to each Chief Secretaries of States and Union Territories, asking them to clasp peculiar gram sabha meetings by December 26, papers the proceedings, and upload them successful real-time with timestamped and geotagged photos and videos connected the Panchayat Nirnay app.
The authorities went connected to accidental that the Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj volition “closely show the progress” of this effort, adding that this would guarantee “effective dissemination of accusation and creaseless modulation to the caller statutory framework”.
The missive from the Centre argued that the VB-G RAM G Act “aims to further fortify agrarian employment, livelihood diversification, and socio-economic empowerment done a rights-based model backed by guaranteed entree to wage employment and sustainable livelihood opportunities”. The Centre further urged the States and Union Territories to guarantee the “active participation” of villagers, workers, women, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households, and susceptible groups.
The Bill was introduced and passed successful Parliament this month, and was assented to by President Droupadi Murmu past week.
The Union authorities argued for the VB-G RAM G Bill successful Parliament, citing deficiencies with the MGNREGA scheme, including corruption and the alleged misuse of funds by State governments. Under this caller law, allocations are acceptable to beryllium capped wrong a fixed budget, which volition beryllium decided by the Union government. The “parameters” connected which this volition beryllium decided person not been specified truthful far. Further, it provides for employment to beryllium fixed lone successful the agrarian areas that the Centre notifies.
It increases the fig of workdays guaranteed from 100 to 125, but it has besides changed the backing pattern, raising the fiscal load connected States to 40% from 10% nether the erstwhile MGNREGA system.
On Tuesday (December 23, 2025), the Left-affiliated All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) issued a statement, asking each its units and activists to actively enactment successful the peculiar gram sabhas being called crossed the state and “openly reject” the caller Act, adding that the AIAWU besides intends to taxable ceremonial resolutions outlining their presumption connected the VB-G RAM G Act, and calling for the restoration of MGNREGA to panchayat presidents and sarpanches crossed India.
Last week, aft the caller instrumentality was passed, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi issued a video statement, accusing the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led authorities of trying to weaken the MGNREGA strategy passim the past 11 years, and vowing to combat this caller “black law”, which she argued was brought to “bulldoze” the jobs warrant strategy that had go “a root of livelihood, particularly for the underprivileged, exploited, mediocre and highly mediocre people”.
