Kerala has demanded that the Union government withdraw the new Bill introduced in Parliament to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS), as the proposed legislation is “nothing short of a declaration of war against the ordinary people of the country, jeopardising their livelihoods”.
Kerala would be one of the most adversely affected States if the proposed legislation is allowed to become a law because it puts an annual additional liability of ₹1,600 crore on the State, Minister for Local Self-Governments department M.B. Rajesh told reporters here on Tuesday (December 16, 2025).
The proposed legislation completely negates the core principles of the employment guarantee programme and represents a total abdication of the Centre’s responsibility of providing employment and shifts 40% of the expenditure burden onto the States, he said
The MGNREGS is a flagship programme launched by the UPA government to provide up to 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to rural households willing to undertake unskilled manual work. Implemented in Kerala since 2006, the scheme has been vital for poverty alleviation, providing livelihoods to thousands of families.
Mr. Rajesh claimed that in the last ten years, the BJP-led Union government has been systematically attempting to weaken the scheme by withholding wages, allowing large arrears to accumulate, and by reducing the number of workdays. The arrears due to Kerala now stands at ₹826.9 crore, he said.
States’ interests undermined
Mr. Rajesh said that several provisions in the new Bill undermines States’ interests and the concept of employment as a right. He said the new Bill is dictated by targets and budgets fixed by the Centre instead of being driven by demand, while at the same time it absolves the Centre of all responsibility.
According to the new Bill, the Centre will fix State-wise normative allocations for each financial year and any expenditure beyond that will have to be borne by the States. The Centre will no longer be obligated to reimburse additional person-days generated, effectively abolishing the right to work.
The change in the funding pattern – from a fully Centrally-sponsored scheme to a 60:40 Centre-State shared Budget – will place a huge burden on States like Kerala, Mr. Rajesh said. With an average annual expenditure of ₹4,000 crore, Kerala will now have to bear 40% — around ₹1,600 crore — under the new provisions, amounting to economic strangulation by the Centre.
Central assistance to Kerala has also been declining steadily. So far this year, Kerala has received only ₹2,928.34 crore under MGNREGS, he said.
He said that the promise to increase work days from 100 to 125 is hollow because the Bill clearly states that this increase in work days is applicable only to rural areas that the Centre notifies. Given the urban nature of many of the grama panchayats in the State, Kerala is likely to lose out on that count too.
Change in name
The new name of the proposed Bill – Viksit Bharat Guarantee For Rozgar And Ajeevika Mission (Grameen), shortened as VB G RAM G – does away with the name of Mahatma Gandhi. While this change in name is objectionable, the government is more worried about the provisions in the Bill that could end the livelihood of lakhs of families, especially women, in Kerala, Mr. Rajesh said.
The original scheme provided for compensation and allowance if work could not be guaranteed and the new Bill while retaining these clauses, pushes the entire responsibility of compensation to the States.
Mr. Rajesh said that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s alliance partners have already expressed their apprehensions about the scheme. Kerala appealed to the State’s Members of Parliament to jointly take up the fight against the new Bill.
Published – December 16, 2025 04:48 pm IST
