2 months ago
1
The Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, which was passed by Parliament wrong 2 days of its instauration connected December 16 past year, has respective steps to wide earlier it tin beryllium implemented. The caller agrarian employment authorities replaces the Congress-led UPA government’s flagship scheme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA).
Also Read | Change for the worse: On MGNREGA to VB-G RAM G
According to sources, the Union Ministry of Rural Development is holding play consultation meetings with State Governments. There are respective tricky issues that the Centre indispensable navigate, including a look for “normative allocation” for the States. Section 4(5) of the authorities says, “The Central authorities shall find the state-wise normative allocation for each fiscal year, based connected nonsubjective parameters arsenic whitethorn beryllium prescribed by the Central government.” This clause is intended to guarantee a much equitable organisation of resources, pursuing complaints from respective economically weaker States that they person a smaller proportionality of funds. These nonsubjective parameters are yet to beryllium finalised.
“Several State governments that were among the champion performers nether MGNREGA reason that the nonsubjective parameters should besides instrumentality into relationship their past performance, portion different States contend that the parameters should bespeak the request successful a State, particularly successful those with precocious rates of migration of agrarian workers,” a elder authoritative of the Ministry of Rural Development said.
The authorities requires that each Gram Panchayats beryllium categorised arsenic A, B, oregon C, based connected improvement parameters. The Act cites lone 1 illustration — “proximity to municipality areas” — of what these “development parameters” could entail. The Centre, presently successful consultation with the States, is moving connected framing these parameters. This categorisation, arsenic the Act states, is meant to code the “varying needs of the Panchayats”.
For the strategy to rotation out, State governments indispensable person astatine slightest 5 basal elements successful place, a apical authoritative said. These see ensuring that ongoing enactment nether the aged authorities — MGNREGA — is completed. Second, the States indispensable enrol themselves connected DBT Sparsh, a banking platform. For the archetypal clip since the motorboat of the agrarian employment scheme, the Centre and the States volition stock the fiscal burden. West Bengal has not yet enrolled connected the platform, according to sources. Third, the ongoing thrust to behaviour e‑Know Your Customer (EKYC)verification of MGNREGA occupation cards indispensable beryllium completed. At present, 83% of progressive workers — defined arsenic anyone who has worked astatine slightest erstwhile nether the programme successful the past 3 years — person completed eKYC. These eKYC-enabled occupation cards, the elder authoritative said, volition proceed to beryllium valid nether the VB‑G RAM G Act until the authorities replaces them with a astute card. Finally, State governments indispensable onboard Yuktdhara, a geospatial readying portal that the Centre wants utilized for preparing the Viksit Gram Panchayat plan, which volition relation similar a maestro docket of each works planned for the year.
The Centre besides has to framework rules nether eleven categories, for illustration connected societal audit of the scheme.
Sources indicated that the caller authorities whitethorn not beryllium acceptable for rollout by April 1 this year. From the time the caller Act is notified by the Centre — which volition beryllium treated arsenic the commencement day — the State governments volition person six months to instrumentality the scheme.
The Union Budget earmarked ₹95,692.31 crore for VB‑GRAM G and ₹30,000 crore for MGNREGS, taking the combined allocation for the 2 agrarian employment heads to ₹1,25,692.31 crore. The authorities has projected this arsenic a 43% summation implicit the Revised Estimate of ₹88,000 crore for MGNREGS successful 2025‑26.
