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The Telangana government has decided to move the Supreme Court against the BJP-led Union government’s Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM-G) Act, arguing that the new rural employment law weakens the legal framework of the earlier Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and was introduced without consulting states. The state will, however, also be implementing the law.
The state government is expected to file a petition contending that the new law alters the nature of the rural employment guarantee and undermines the role of states in implementing the programme. It also plans to argue that the legislation could lead to duplication of schemes, administrative complications and reduced effectiveness of rural employment delivery.
Briefing reporters after a meeting of the cabinet on Thursday, July 2, Telangana Information and Public Relations Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy brought up the state assembly’s resolution against VB-G-RAM-G in January.
He said the state government’s cabinet sub-committee on the issue, headed by Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, submitted its report, which was debated thoroughly in the cabinet. “The cabinet decided to approach the Supreme Court to protect our rights, while accepting the scheme,” he stated.
The Union government rolled out the VB-G RAM-G programme this week as the new framework for rural employment, replacing MGNREGA. The scheme promises 125 days of guaranteed work annually, higher wages and greater use of technology, while introducing stricter financial oversight for expenditure by states. The controversy surrounding VB-G RAM G centers on the BJP government replacing the MGNREGA program, which critics argue removes the legally guaranteed right to work by turning it into a budget-capped scheme.