4 months ago
2
The Kerala Assembly connected Thursday (February 5, 2026) passed a solution demanding that the Union authorities reconstruct the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) model by withdrawing the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–G RAM G).
“VB-G RAM G entails terrible fiscal load connected the States. With its introduction, the rights-based attack that was the essence of the existing (MGNREG) strategy has vanished,” said the solution presented by Minister for Local Self-Government M.B. Rajesh. Under the caller system, it falls upon the States to supply unemployment wages and compensation for delayed outgo of wages, it said.
While the Centre retains the powerfulness to determine the stock of the States, the second are held afloat liable for the further burdens arising from the scheme, the solution said. Under VB-G RAM G, the Centre would acceptable a ‘normative allocation,’ 40% of which would beryllium borne by the States. The implicit work of each moving days beyond this allocation has to beryllium borne by the States. It is estimated that Kerala would incur an further load of ₹3,500 crore connected relationship of this caller condition, the solution said.
The solution was passed amid Opposition protests successful the House implicit the Sabarimala golden theft issue.
In Kerala, 40.45 lakh families are portion of the MGNREGS. Of this, 22.66 lakh workers from 19.43 families are considered afloat progressive successful it. Kerala has been taking steps to guarantee that they get maximum opportunities for enactment and that their livelihood prospects are improved. The figures for 2024-25 amusement that against the nationalist mean of 50.23 man-days, Kerala had provided 66.17 man-days, the solution said.
The State has besides been providing benefits implicit and supra the national-level scheme. It had launched the ‘Tribal Plus’ strategy which ensures an other 100 days of guaranteed employment to the tribal population. The festival allowance of ₹1,000 being issued to families that had completed 100 moving days was accrued to ₹1,200 successful 2025-26, it said.
Kerala was the archetypal State to make a payment committee for MGNREGs workers. Further, the State established the Ayyankali employment warrant strategy for workers successful municipality areas and brought them nether the payment fund, the solution noted.
The Union authorities had replaced MGNREGS erstwhile it had already placed hurdles earlier the State by moving up arrears connected its stock nether the scheme, the solution said.
