Kerala govt. forms steering committee for implementation of VB–G RAM G
Signalling a shift to the new Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB–G RAM G], which has been introduced by the
Signalling a shift to the new Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB–G RAM G], which has been introduced by the Union government to replace the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the State government earlier this week formed a state-level steering committee for the scheme. As per a Central Gazette notification issued in May, the VB–G RAM G is set to come into force across the country on July 1. The steering committee has been formed to guide the State-level implementation of the new programme.
The Chief Secretary or an Additional Chief Secretary nominated by the State government will be the chairperson of the steering committee while the Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary of the Local Self Government department will be the co-chairperson. The 18-member steering committee will include Secretaries of various departments including finance, agriculture, forest and wildlife, public works, public works and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development. Earlier this year, the Kerala Assembly had passed a resolution demanding that the Union government to restore the MGNREGS framework by withdrawing VB–G RAM G.
One of the major issues cited regarding the revamped scheme is that the State will have to bear the additional financial burdens arising from the scheme while the Union government retains the power to decide the share of the States. The Union government would set a ‘normative allocation’, 40% of which would be borne by the States. The complete responsibility of all working days beyond this allocation has to be borne by the States. It is estimated that Kerala would incur an additional burden of ₹3,500 crore on account of this new condition.
In Kerala, 40.45 lakh families are part of the MGNREGS. Of this, 22.66 lakh workers from 19.43 families are considered fully active in it. While the national average of person days of work allocated in 2024-25 was 50.23, in Kerala it was 66.17 person days. The State has also been providing benefits over and above the national-level scheme. It had launched the ‘Tribal Plus’ scheme which ensures an extra 100 days of guaranteed employment to the tribal population.
The BriefWire