No order yet on extra 50 days of work for FRA title holders, Pg12

Key Highlights:

• Uncertainty persists for Forest Rights Act (FRA) title holders regarding an additional 50 days of work under the new Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-G RAM G).
• The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, which replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on July 1, 2026, guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household.
• Unlike MGNREGA, the new act does not explicitly provide for an additional 50 days of work for FRA title holders, who previously received 150 days.
• The Rural Development Ministry confirmed, in response to a Right to Information Act (RTI) application, that no specific order for additional entitlement under VB-G RAM G has been issued for FRA title holders.
• Ministry sources indicate a notification approving the additional 50 days of work is expected shortly.

Detailed Insights:

• Under the erstwhile MGNREGA, FRA title holders were entitled to 150 days of work annually, comprising the standard 100 days plus an additional 50 days, a provision introduced in January 2014.
• The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, aims to provide a comprehensive statutory overhaul of MGNREGA, aligning rural employment with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.
• Section 5(4) of the VB-G RAM G Act allows for work beyond the guaranteed days, but this provision is discretionary and does not specify any particular beneficiary group.
• Implementation of the additional 50 days under MGNREGA was historically inconsistent, with only 15% of eligible households availing the benefit in 2025-26.
• States like Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh showed varying rates of uptake for the additional days under the previous scheme.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006: A legislation recognizing the rights of forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers to forest resources.
• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005: A social welfare measure guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment to rural households, replaced by VB-G RAM G.
• Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-G RAM G), 2025: The new act replacing MGNREGA, guaranteeing 125 days of rural wage employment.
• Right to Information Act (RTI), 2005: An act empowering citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities to promote transparency.