Civil society groups, led by the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, are planning a nationwide protest -- similar to the farmers' stir a few years ago -- starting December 19 demanding scrapping of the new Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission.
The groups are planning to mobilise agriculture and rural workers in all state capitals, district headquarters, block offices and panchayats and also march towards the national capital demanding abolition of the new draft and continuation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) scheme.
"If there was one Act that truly made India a 'vishwaguru', it was MGNREGA and repealing it with a new centrally sponsored scheme would mean that all powers will get concentrated in the hands of the central government without any corresponding obligation," Jean Dreze, economist and former member of the National Advisory Council, told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.
Dr Dreze said that in the new draft VB-G RAM G, the central government holds unbridled power to determine which part of the country the rural employment scheme will work, and where it won't.
"Twenty years back when the scheme was being framed we had opposed this provision and it was dropped after much effort, but once again Centre wants to bring this provision back," Dr Dreze said.
The real reason for repealing MGNREGA seems to be political, Dr Dreze said, while calling upon all states to bitterly oppose the draft Bill.
"This normative based allocation and 60:40 ratio of expenditure share is also highly problematic," Dr Dreze added.
Jayati Ghosh, economist and former professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, said that repealing MGNREGA will pull down aggregate demand and further hurt the economy.
Others too demanded immediately withdrawal of VB-G RAM G and reinstatement of MGNREGA.
Meanwhile, in a related development, Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, on Wednesday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to refer the VB-G RAM G Bill to the Standing Committee concerned for a detailed examination.
In the letter, Ulaka, who is the Congress MP from Koraput in Odisha, said that the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, (VB-G RAM G) seeks to introduce far-reaching changes in the framework governing rural employment and livelihood support.
'Given the scale, scope and potential impact of these provisions, particularly on rural, tribal, and economically vulnerable populations, it is my considered view that the legislation warrants detailed examination by a Parliamentary Standing Committee,' Ulaka wrote.
The Congress MP expressed 'deep concern and institutional discomfort' at the prospect of a Bill of this magnitude being processed without the benefit of such scrutiny.
Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while initiating the debate on the Bill, asserted that the VB-G RAM G will not only ensure employment but also fulfil Mahatma Gandhi's dream of making villages self-reliant.
Moving the Bill for consideration and passage, Chouhan said the new Bill will ensure all-around development of villages and make them poverty-free, fuelling their growth journey.
Initiating the debate from the Opposition side, Jai Prakash (Congress) lamented that the name of Mahatma Gandhi was removed from the Bill, which was 'the biggest crime'.
The proposed law, Jai Prakash said, will create fresh financial liabilities for the states and deprive grassroots-level bodies like the gram sabhas of their rights to decide on work to be undertaken under the draft law.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff
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