Despite assurance from Centre, MGNREGS workers denied work, Pg12

Key Highlights:

• MGNREGS workers in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, have been protesting for 87 days due to lack of work.
• Approximately 12,000 workers in Muzaffarpur have not received work for the past 3-4 months.
• The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025, passed in December, has created uncertainty regarding MGNREGS.
• Similar complaints have emerged from Dungarpur district in Rajasthan, where workers are being denied work under MGNREGS.

Detailed Insights:

• The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 aims to provide employment and livelihood opportunities in rural areas, but its implementation framework is still under discussion with States.
• Despite assurances from the Union government that MGNREGS will continue unchanged until the new Act is implemented, workers are facing rejections and lack of work.
• In Muzaffarpur, 16,000 workers, mostly women, gathered at the district headquarters to demand work, and a delegation met with Rural Development Ministry officials in Delhi on March 25.
• In Dungarpur, Rajasthan, women workers were initially denied work under MGNREGS, with officials citing a lack of clarity or discontinuation of the scheme.
• MGNREGS provides approximately ₹25,000 to ₹28,000 annually to each household, and it is often the only source of income for women-led households along with government pensions.
• The lack of formal orders discontinuing MGNREGS and the provisions of the VB-G RAM G Act create confusion and uncertainty on the ground.

Key Concepts Involved:

• MGNREGS: Aims to enhance livelihood security of households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
• Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025: A new act to provide employment and livelihood opportunities in rural areas.