VB-G RAM G Act not a rebrand of MNREGA, but rural jobs overhaul: Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami

New Delhi: Speaking to the reporters at the Media Center, State Secretariat, in Dehradun on Tuesday, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami described the new Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission Gramin Act (VB-G RAM G Act) not just a renaming of MNREGA, but a structural restructuring of the rural employment policy.

This will strengthen rural areas and units. He described it as important for making villages developed. He said that this Act will prove to be important in providing security to farmers, employment to workers, respect to women, development of villages and laying a strong foundation for a developed India through developed villages.

In a press release, issued by the Uttarakhand’s information department, CM said that VB-G Ram G, along with providing development-based guarantees, will now provide rural families with the right to 125 days of employment instead of 100, a 25% increase from the previous period.

Under this scheme, a mandatory unemployment allowance has been established for those who fail to find work within 15 days, and the responsibility of the officer responsible for this has also been fixed. He added that payments under this system will be weekly, and compensation has been provided for delays.CM said that technology-based transparency has been ensured in the work carried out under VB-G Ram G. It utilizes various technologies such as biometric attendance, geo-tagging and GIS mapping, mobile apps and public dashboards, AI-based fraud detection, and mandatory social audits twice a year. The use of all these technologies makes this scheme a corruption-free employment guarantee scheme.

He said the new Act clearly protects farmers’ interests. Project work can be legally halted for a maximum of 60 days during the sowing and harvesting seasons. This will ensure farmers do not face labour shortages, increase farming costs, and maintain a balanced rural economy.

According to him, the real power has been given to the Gram Panchayat and Gram Sabha under VB-G RAM G Act. He stated that under this scheme, work will not be imposed, but rather the Gram Sabha will determine the development work identified. He said that at least 50% of the work will be carried out directly at the Gram Panchayat level. Under this, tasks such as job cards, registration, and planning will be decided at the local level by the Gram Sabha.