Death knell for the rural job guarantee

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 3 -Indian economy.

Introduction

Death knell for the rural job guarantee captures the shift from a rights-based rural employment system to a discretionary framework. The replacement of MGNREGA by the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 changes rural employment from an enforceable right linked to dignity and survival into an administratively sanctioned programme. This transition weakens constitutional values, decentralisation, and livelihood security for the rural poor.

MGNREGA: A Rights-Based Employment Framework

1. Constitutional foundation: The right to livelihood is an integral part of the right to life under Article 21, as affirmed by the Supreme Court in Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation (1985). MGNREGA translated this constitutional principle into practice by recognising employment as a necessary condition for a dignified life.
2. Demand-driven guarantee: MGNREGA ensured work on demand. If employment was not provided within 15 days, workers had the right to unemployment allowance, making the State legally accountable.
3. Justiciable worker rights: The law guaranteed timely wage payments, delay compensation, minimum wages, and equal wages for men and women. These rights were legally enforceable and not dependent on administrative discretion.
4. Ecological and institutional role: MGNREGA focused on creating durable assets to address ecological distress. It also strengthened panchayat raj institutions by placing planning and execution at the local level.

Impact of MGNREGA

1. Universal and inclusive design: MGNREGA was universal rather than targeted, avoiding exclusion errors and ensuring that all rural households facing distress could access employment without complex eligibility conditions.
2. Improvement in rural incomes: Within a few years of implementation, studies showed a rise in workers’ incomesand a decline in overall poverty. Increased income stability also led to higher school enrolment among rural households.
3. Reduced dependence on moneylenders: According to the India Human Development Survey, reliance on moneylenders declined by 21%, indicating reduced vulnerability to debt traps and informal exploitation.
4. Transformative impact on women: Before MGNREGA, about 45% of women workers were either not engaged in paid work or worked only on family farms. Over the last five years, women’s participation averaged around 58%, reflecting the impact of equal wages, proximity of worksites, and predictable employment.
5. Reduction in social inequalities: The programme helped counter caste and gender inequalities by reducing dependence on dominant-caste employers. Gram Sabha oversight and social audits enabled community assertion.
6. Global recognition and crisis role: International opinion shifted from criticism to praise, with the World Bank calling MGNREGA a “stellar example” of rural development in 2014. Its role during the COVID-19 crisis showed its value as a shock absorber.

New Employment Law: VB-G RAM G Act, 2025

What is VB-G RAM G Act:

The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 replaces MGNREGA by redefining rural employment as a mission-based programme rather than a legal guarantee. It shifts responsibility from workers’ demand to administrative planning and central approval, turning employment from a right enforceable against the State into a scheme dependent on discretion.

Features

1. Shift in policy logic: The new law replaces demand-driven employment with administratively planned works. Employment now depends on pre-approved missions, not workers’ applications.
2. Centralised control: Section 5(1) grants the Union government wide discretion over where, what, and how public works will be executed. Local autonomy embedded in MGNREGA stands diluted.
3. Normative allocations: Section 4(5) introduces State-wise normative fund allocations based on parameters decided by the Centre, converting a legal guarantee into a centrally sponsored allocation model.
4. Altered fiscal responsibility: The Centre–State funding ratio shifts to 60:40 for most States. Any expenditure beyond the allocated norm must be borne entirely by States.

Major Concerns of the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025

1. Erosion of enforceable rights: The new law removes the obligation of the Union government to compensate workers for wage delays, despite judicial directions fixing such liability on the Centre.
2. Threat to federal balance: While control is centralised, financial responsibility is shifted to States, creating risks of political favouritism and uneven access.
3. Work rationing risk: Fiscal pressure on States may lead to suppression of work demand, increasing unemployment and distress-driven migration.
4. Seasonal employment restriction: The provision denying work for 60 days during the agricultural season harms landless workers and women, reinforcing land, caste, and gender hierarchies.
5. Illusory employment promise: The claim of 125 days of employment per household lacks credibility when average employment remains around 50 days due to funding constraints.
6. Exclusion through administration: Technocratic controls, including rigid norms and digital compliance, widen the gap between workers and officials and create new spaces for corruption.
7. Weak accountability mechanisms: The law introduces no new safeguards to address corruption. Existing mechanisms like social audits remain underfunded and ineffective.

For detailed information on VB-G RAM G Bill – Provisions & Significance read this article here

Conclusion

MGNREGA blended Gandhian local governance with Ambedkarite rights-based citizenship. The VB-G RAM G Act formalises a long erosion of this framework by replacing enforceable rights with discretion and central control. Rural employment policy needs reform, not dismantling of rights. Diluting accountability weakens dignity, justice, and the constitutional promise to rural India.

Question for practice:

Examine how the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 replaces the rights-based employment guarantee under MGNREGA with a discretionary framework and its implications for rural livelihoods.

Source: The Hindu