The Haryana government has notified Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) or the VB-G RAM G scheme for all rural areas of the state.
The VB-G RAM G Act replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
As per the scheme, the State Government shall provide to every household whose adult members, by application, volunteer to do unskilled manual work, not less than 125 days of guaranteed employment in a financial year.
The scheme was notified on June 30 and has come into operation since then.
The disbursement of daily wages will be made on a weekly basis or, in any case, not later than a fortnight after the date on which such work was done.
The State Government can recommend to the Central Government the need for special operational relaxations during natural calamities or other extraordinary circumstances to ensure timely response and support to affected households.
Also, every person who has performed the work assigned to them under the scheme will be entitled to receive wages at the wage rate notified by the Central Government under section 10 of the VB-G RAM G Act.
The notification further says that if an applicant for employment under the Scheme is not provided such employment within fifteen days of receipt of their application seeking employment or from the date on which the employment has been sought in the case of an advance application, whichever is later, they shall be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
The main opposition Congress in the state has previously led protests against the VB-G RAM G Act, saying that the state now has to bear 40 per cent of the financial burden, whereas earlier it took on only 10 per cent. In MGNREGA, the Centre used to bear 100 per cent of the burden on labour wages and 75 per cent on material wages, which translated to a 90:10 cost share between Centre and state. Even BJP-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand have objected to the additional financial burden that the new scheme would impose on the state governments.
Five states have sought wage revision. Another controversial feature of VB-G RAM G is the blackout period, which will pause the program during peak agricultural seasons to facilitate the availability of cheap labour, a move that Congress-ruled states have sought reconsideration of.
