Centre Likely To Repeal MGNREGA Scheme; New Rural Employment Law Expected To Be Introduced In Parliament: Reports

New Delhi: The Centre is likely to introduce a Bill in Parliament to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), a flagship rural employment scheme of the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, claimed media reports, citing sources. The Centre will reportedly bring a new law – the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) ((VB-G RAM G), replacing MGNREGA.

Notably, MGNREGA guarantees 100 days of wage employment to rural households every year. The Central government circulated the Bill among the members of the Lok Sabha on Monday, claimed reports. The bill aims at establishing a "rural development framework aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047", by providing a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work.

The bill has been listed in the Lok Sabha in the supplementary list of business issued on Monday.

Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, in the statement of purpose of the Bill, said MGNREGA has provided guaranteed wage-employment to rural households over the past 20 years.

However, "further strengthening has become necessary in view of the significant socio-economic transformation witnessed in the rural landscape driven by widespread coverage of the social security interventions and saturation-oriented implementation of major government schemes", he said.

The new bill aims to promote "empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation for a prosperous and resilient rural Bharat", and lays emphasis on "empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation through public works aggregating into forming Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack".

The MGNREGA as enacted in September 2005. It started rolling out in phases from February 2006. By April 2008, the law covered almost entire country.