Centre launches revamped rural jobs scheme with 125-day employment guarantee
Tirupati, July 2 (TNT): Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday launched the nationwide Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G Ram G) from Mukkavaripalli village in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati district, unveiling a revamped rural employment programme that guarantees 125 days of wage employment and significantly higher investments in village infrastructure.
The programme was launched in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, Union Ministers of State Dr. Chandrasekhar Pemmmasani and Kamlesh Paswan, among others.
Describing the initiative as a major step towards achieving the goal of a developed India, Chouhan said the new programme goes beyond the existing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) by increasing the guaranteed employment period from 100 days to 125 days.
The Union Minister said the Centre would provide over ₹95,000 crore in the first year, while the combined expenditure of the Centre and states would reach around ₹1.51 lakh crore annually.
Over the next five years, the government plans to invest ₹7.5 lakh crore, benefiting 2.86 lakh gram panchayats across the country.
He said the scheme provides statutory protection to rural workers by making it mandatory to provide employment within 15 days of a demand for work, failing which unemployment allowance would have to be paid. It also provides for payment of interest in cases of delayed wage disbursal.
To strengthen implementation, the Centre has increased administrative expenditure under the scheme from 6 per cent to 9 per cent, earmarking over ₹13,000 crore for salaries and operational support to Gram Rozgar Sahayaks, mates and other field-level personnel.
Chouhan said the programme would adopt a decentralised planning model, empowering Gram Sabhas and Gram Panchayats to decide development priorities, including roads, schools, Anganwadi centres, irrigation structures, ponds, check dams and disaster mitigation works.
He also said states would be allowed to grade gram panchayats based on development indicators and provide additional financial support to backward villages.
For Andhra Pradesh, Chouhan announced Central assistance of ₹7,707 crore for a nine-month period under the scheme and expressed confidence that the state would emerge as a national model in rural development under the leadership of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan.
The Union Minister also announced that wages under the programme would not fall below ₹300 per day in any state. In Andhra Pradesh, the wage rate has been fixed between ₹312 and ₹315 per day, he added.
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