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New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Thursday cleared the V-B G Ram G Bill, the new rural jobs bill that seeks to replace the 20-year-old MGNREGA, amid huge uproar in Parliament. The Opposition MPs tore the copy of the Bill and protested in the Well. The Bill will now be tabled in the Rahya Sabha.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, proposes to provide a statutory guarantee of 125 days (it was 100 days under MGNREGA) of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work. It also proposes to impose 40 per cent of the overall costs on state governments. The G Ram G Bill will replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA).
Row over G Ram G Bill
The Bill that seeks to guarantee rural jobs for 125 days every year has been at the centre of political controversy with the Opposition alleging that changing the name of MGNREGA is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi. Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said that the renaming MGNREGA is not just an administrative tweak but an "assault" on the very spirit and philosophical foundation of the crucial programme. He also questioned the financial restructuring proposed in the Bill and said that the massive shift in liability will "inevitably make implementation impossible for poorer states and will lead to delays in wage payments, and a reduction in the number of workdays".
Centre allays apprehensions
Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday moved the Bill for consideration and passage and said the VB-G RAM G Bill will ensure all-around development of villages and make them poverty-free, fuelling their growth journey. He also said that the Bill will not only ensure employment but also fulfil Mahatma Gandhi's dream of making villages self-reliant.
