The launch of the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB-G RAM G), which is set to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) from July 1, is grappling with critical issues including a substantial backlog of unfinished works and fierce opposition from state governments. The new legislation was originally scheduled to be rolled out on April 1, but the launch was pushed back because the dedicated portal and technical infrastructure were not yet ready.
States and district administrations have now been given a strict deadline of June 30 to complete all pending MGNREGA works. While the law promises 125 days of statutory wage employment to rural households, only 19 states have officially notified the scheme so far.
In Rajasthan’s Dungarpur district alone, a staggering 5,735 MGNREGA works — excluding Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and plantation projects — remain physically incomplete. Every single block in the district is struggling with a backlog; Sagwara has 821 pending works, Dovda has 683, Dungarpur has 592, Chikhli has 590, Galiyakot has 573, Sabla has 544, Semalwara has 532, and Bichiwara has 522. Furthermore, thirty-eight works have been suspended outright.
Despite district data strongly indicating otherwise, MGNREGA’s Dungarpur executive engineer, Mahesh Ojha, maintained that the pending works would be completed by the June 30 deadline and that new categories would seamlessly continue under VB-G RAM G.
Meanwhile, officials from the Ministry of Rural Development have acknowledged that infrastructure projects like ponds, anicuts, grazing lands, rural roads, and community buildings have remained incomplete across various panchayats for years. Raising concerns on behalf of several states, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh stated on Sunday that the only guarantee the new law actually offered was that of extreme centralisation and the direct weakening of the bargaining power of rural labour.
Also read: Cong flags concern, says VB G RAM G financial burden on states
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