With only two days left for the roll-out of the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, the agriculture workers union on Monday said the proposed rules fundamentally undermine the hard-won right to work as in the original legislation of MGNREGA.
It said VB-GRAM G is a direct attack on the core of the livelihood security framework as it shifts the scheme from a “rights-based entitlement" to a “state-controlled charity".
In a statement, the All India Agricultural Workers’ Union (AIAWU), said the new rules have serious gaps that would cause faulty implementation. It raised various objections like exclusion of agriculture workers, unions and panchayats from the steering committee; arbitrary determination of wages; abolishing ‘summer allowance’; among others.
“Under VB-GRAM G, the Steering Committee has been packed entirely with bureaucrats, vesting absolute authority in them. Agricultural workers, trade unions, democratically elected panchayats, and Members of Parliament (MPs) have been completely excluded from this decision-making body," it said.
AIAWU president A Vijayaraghavan said the government continues to arbitrarily determine wages without indexing them to the true rate of inflation and rising commodity prices.
“Under the original MGNREGA framework, the rule dictated that workers must receive either the central notified wage or the state’s minimum wage, whichever was higher. The new proposals completely violate this pro-worker wage-revision principle," he said.
The farmers’ body suggested that an independent ombudsman system should be established at the national, state and district levels to inquire into complaints relating to denial of employment, delayed wage payments, corruption, administrative lapses and violations of workers’ rights.
“At least five representatives from organisations working on rural employment, social audits, women’s rights, Dalit rights, and Adivasi rights must be included in the Council," it said.
The All India Agricultural Workers’ Union also advocated for multiple payment options for workers in rural areas.
“In rural areas, workers continue to face serious difficulties due to the long distance to banks and post offices, server failures, biometric authentication problems, Aadhaar seeding errors, and banking infrastructure deficiencies. As a result, millions of rural workers experience delays and denial of their rightful payments," it said.
The body said workers shall be provided multiple payment options, including bank accounts, post office accounts, cooperative banking institutions, and cash payments through gram panchayats or other authorised public institutions.
“The choice of payment mode shall rest with the worker," the statement said.
