Lok Sabha Passes VB G RAM G Bill — Details Inside

The Lok Sabha passed on Thursday the Viksit Bharat — Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill or the VB G RAM G Bill.

The bill, which seeks to repeal the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, increases the number of guaranteed wage employment days in a fiscal year to 125 from 100 offered under MGNREGA.

Another key change under the new bill is how the financial burden of the employment guarantee will be divided. Earlier, the weight of expenses was primarily borne by the central government, with states carrying roughly 10% of the burden.

Under MGNREGA, the Centre took care of 100% of the wage costs and 75% of the material costs, but the new VB-G RAM G tweaks the ratio of responsibility and mandates a 60:40 spend share pattern for most states.

Therefore, while the central government will still be responsible for the majority of the financial burden (60%), the weight on state governments has been increased sharply.

For North-eastern and Himalayan states, the funding-sharing ratio will be 90:10, while for other states and Union Territories with legislatures, it will be 60:40. For the Union Territories without a legislature, the Centre will cover the total cost.

Within six months of the VB-G RAM G Act coming into effect, states are required to formulate schemes aligned with its provisions. The programme will be implemented as a centrally sponsored scheme. The financial responsibilities will be shared between the Centre and state governments. 

The legislation faced staunch objections in the Lok Sabha after being introduced, with opposition MPs like Priyanka Gandhi Vadra protesting against the removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the scheme.

However, while introducing the legislation, Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated that the incumbent government not only believes in Mahatma Gandhi but also follows his principles.

The Union Minister further emphasised that even though MGNREGA has provided guaranteed rural wage employment for 20 years, there is a need for "further strengthening” of the framework due to socio-economic changes from widespread social security programs and saturation of major government schemes.