Tamil Nadu chief minister C. Joseph Vijay has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to amend key provisions of the proposed Viksit Bharat Guarantee scheme, warning that its current funding pattern could impose an additional burden of more than Rs 5,000 crore on the state and hamper the effective implementation of rural employment programmes.

In a letter to the Prime Minister on Wednesday, Vijay said several provisions of the VB G RAMG Act, 2025 require "critical modifications and relaxations," failing which "the seamless and effective execution of this scheme on the ground would suffer significantly and will affect the rural population which is dependent on the rural employment programme".

Objecting to the proposed funding pattern, the chief minister said the scheme mandates a 60:40 cost-sharing ratio between the Centre and the state for wage, material and administrative components.

"As MGNREGS operated under a different structure for two decades, this abrupt shift places an unsustainable strain on the state exchequer, which may reduce available wage employment days or crowd out other essential welfare schemes," he said.

"I therefore request that 100 per cent funding be maintained for the wage and administrative components, with the material component shared on a 75:25 basis between the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu," he said.

Vijay also objected to the proposed centralised methodology for classifying village panchayats and allocating funds within states, saying it would limit states' flexibility in addressing local needs.

Claiming that the proposed framework introduces excessive micromanagement, he said, "uniform, formulaic national approach fails to account for regional socio-economic diversity and risks lopsided grassroot allocations".

He urged the Centre to allow states greater flexibility to evolve their own methodology for intra-state fund distribution based on local socio-economic conditions and ground-level requirements.

The chief minister also raised concerns over the provision requiring states to notify a fixed 60-day peak agricultural season each financial year, during which employment works would remain suspended.

"The Act mandates that the state notify a fixed 60-day period per financial year covering peak sowing and harvesting, during which works are suspended."

"However, unpredictable climate fluctuations such as El Niño frequently alter agricultural timelines, creating sudden unseasonal labour demand or a sharp need for safety-net employment during pre-notified peak periods," the chief minister said.