New Delhi, June 10: The Centre on Tuesday announced an interim allocation of Rs 95,692 crore under the newly introduced Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Grameen) (VB-G RAM G), assuring states that there would be no disruption in rural employment and no reduction in funding during the transition from MGNREGA.
Addressing a meeting of state rural development ministers, Union rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the interim allocation had been made as the rules for the new scheme were still being finalised and to ensure uninterrupted implementation of rural employment and development programmes beyond June 30.
"Without causing any inconvenience to workers, we are moving from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to the VB-G RAM G. There will not be a gap of even a single day in the availability of work," Chouhan told reporters after the meeting.
"Not a single worker should remain without work even for a day," he added.
The minister said the Centre had already released Rs 30,000 crore under MGNREGA this year. With Tuesday's interim allocation of Rs 95,692 crore, the total allocation for rural employment programmes has crossed Rs 1.25 lakh crore.
According to the Rural Development Ministry, Uttar Pradesh received the highest interim allocation at Rs 9,721.48 crore, followed by Bengal at Rs 8,508 crore, Andhra Pradesh at Rs 7,707.21 crore, Tamil Nadu at Rs 7,585.49 crore, Rajasthan at Rs 7,581.87 crore and Bihar at Rs 6,715.83 crore.
Of the total allocation, Rs 92,550.17 crore has been earmarked for states and Rs 1,291.52 crore for Union territories. Another Rs 1,850.62 crore has been set aside for central administration and social audits.
Chouhan said the total annual outlay under the scheme, including the mandatory contribution from states, would be around Rs 1.51 lakh crore.
Seeking to address concerns raised by opposition parties and labour groups, he said no state's allocation had been reduced and that the interim distribution had been calculated on the basis of expenditure incurred under MGNREGA in the previous year.
The minister said 26 states had completed the procedural requirements for implementing the new scheme, while Jharkhand, Karnataka, Telangana and Mizoram were yet to complete all formalities. Representatives of the four states attended the meeting and assured the Centre that preparations were underway, he added.
States have been asked to notify the scheme, frame state-level rules, declare peak agricultural seasons, complete beneficiaries' e-KYC and undertake awareness and capacity-building exercises at district and block levels.
Chouhan said works under the scheme would continue to be selected through gram panchayats and gram sabhas. He also directed that there should be no reduction in employment generation or delay in wage payments under MGNREGA until the new framework comes into force on July 1.
On Bengal, which had been locked in a prolonged dispute with the Centre over rural development funds, Chouhan said the newly elected state government had informed the Centre in writing that it was willing to comply with all prescribed conditions.
Asked whether the state's allocation of Rs 8,508 crore included pending MGNREGA dues, he said disputes relating to earlier claims remained unresolved.
"Till those disputes are settled, that question does not arise. For the remaining period, the West Bengal government has given in writing that it is ready to accept all the rules and conditions of the central government," he said.
He added that around Rs 700 crore had been allocated to Bengal for the remaining period until June 30 under the existing framework, while funding under the new scheme would begin from July.
The minister also said provisions for additional employment during droughts and other emergencies, available under MGNREGA, would continue under the new programme whenever required.
The BJP-led NDA government has presented VB-G RAM G as a revamped rural employment programme that will retain the employment guarantee component while providing greater flexibility for creating rural assets and infrastructure.
Opposition parties, including the Congress and Left, have criticised the move, alleging that it would dilute legal protections available under MGNREGA. The Centre has rejected the criticism, maintaining that workers' interests would remain fully protected during and after the transition.