MGNREGA workers denied work despite Centre’s assurance of continuity

For the last 87 days, MGNREGS workers have been protesting at the Muzaffarpur district headquarters in Bihar. The Union government had assured them that until the Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–G RAM G) Act, 2025, passed by Parliament in December, is rolled out, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) would continue unchanged. But on the ground, workers say the story is very different.

The protest in Muzaffarpur began on January 2 this year. Nearly 12,000 workers in the district have not received work for the past three to four months — even before the new rural employment law was introduced.

There is no clarity on when the new scheme under the VB–G RAM G Act will be implemented on the ground, as the Centre is still holding talks with States to establish the necessary framework.

‘Instructed not to start new work’

“Usually, no work is given during the rains. We waited for the monsoon to end, then for the waterlogged areas to drain. By December, the MGNREGA season normally begins. But despite repeated demand, no work has been provided. This is a blatant violation of the law,” said Sanjay Sahni of MGNREGA Watch-Bihar, an organisation working with rural workers.

Facing repeated rejections, around 16,000 workers — most of them women — gathered at the district headquarters to demand work. When that yielded no response, a delegation travelled to Delhi on March 25 to meet senior officials in the Union Ministry of Rural Development.

“The district officials claim they have instructions not to start any new work. But the Ministry officials insist that no such order exists,” Mr. Sahni said. He wonders whether it is lack of information or whether there is an informal signal from the Centre to stop all work under MGNREGA. 

Lack of clarity

This uncertainty is not limited to Bihar. In Rajasthan’s Dungarpur district, similar complaints have emerged. At Balwarha panchayat, around 40 women workers arrived on the morning of March 23 to complete paperwork for April’s work cycle. Panchayat officials asked them to return later, citing a lack of clarity. On Saturday, they were told that MGNREGA had been discontinued and no further work would be available under the scheme.

A few kilometres away, at Padarmarhi Mewarha panchayat, nearly 30 women workers sat for four hours last Friday, demanding work for the first week of April. Local officials initially claimed that directions had been issued not to start new MGNREGA works. After the women refused to leave, block-level officials also arrived. The workers’ applications were eventually accepted, but uncertainty continues whether any work will actually be assigned.

“For each household, MGNREGA work brings in about ₹25,000 to ₹28,000 annually. The impact of non-availability is not uniform. In some women-led households, MGNREGA and government pensions are the only sources of income,” said Madhulika of the Rajasthan Asangathit Mazdoor Union (RAMU). The villages in this region are predominantly tribal. Working across 13 villages and with around 900 enrolled workers, she said similar complaints have been pouring in from multiple panchayats.

Formal orders vs ground reality

“There are no formal orders. In fact, the VB–G Ram G Act clearly states that until it is implemented, MGNREGA will continue. But on the ground, we are being told otherwise,” she said.

In Rajasthan’s Beawar district, the situation is no different. On March 21, nearly 150 women who reached the Rawat Mal gram panchayat were told that officials were awaiting new forms under the new law.

“They were not given Form 6, which workers must submit to demand work. Officials claimed that new forms under VB–G Ram G were expected, and until they arrived, no work could be offered,” Kanika from the Beawar unit of RAMU said.