"An ocean of corruption:" Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan defends removal of MGNREGA

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], January 14 (ANI): Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan defended the replacement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme with Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act.
During his visit to Gujarat, the agriculture minister alleged irregularities in the implementation of the MGNREGA law, noting that under this law, work was done by machines and contractors instead of labour, and claimed that the new VB-G RAM G Act would stop these irregularities.
The Union Minister further described MGNREGA as an 'ocean of corruption' and said it will no longer be implemented, declaring that the public will no longer listen to the Congress on this matter.
"There were irregularities in it (MGNREGA). There was corruption, work was done by machines and contractors instead of labourers...In VB-G RAM G, by stopping all those irregularities, instead of 100 days, 125 days of employment, through a huge amount of Rs 1 lakh 51 thousand 282 crore, to build developed villages for a developed India, interest will be given on delayed wage payments... No one is going to listen to Congress, this (MGNREGA) was an ocean of corruption which has been ended," Chouhan told reporters.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar criticised the BJP for allegedly killing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which guaranteed 100 days of unskilled wage work per financial year to rural households to enhance livelihood security.
Speaking at a preparatory meeting for the 'MGNREGA Bachao Sangram' at Palace Grounds, the State Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC President stated that the new 60:40 fund-sharing pattern between the Centre and the states would impose a significant burden on state governments.
He asserted that the BJP would find it impossible to implement this new project effectively, even in states where they are currently in power.
"Each panchayat was getting about Rs 1-2 crore a year but that is being jeopardised by the new scheme of the Centre. Under this scheme, the panchayats can't decide where the work should happen. The 90:10 ratio has also been changed to 60:40, this puts more pressure on the states. The BJP will not be able to implement the new project in states ruled by it," said Shivakumar.
The Deputy Chief Minister also mentioned that the Karnataka government will soon decide on organising a two-day special Assembly session to discuss the reinstatement of the MGNREGA scheme.
On December 18, the Parliament passed the VB-G RAM G Bill, which received the President's assent on December 21. The law guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household, up from the existing 100 days, for adult members willing to undertake unskilled manual work. The Law has undergone a full name change from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act.
As per Section 22 of the law, the fund-sharing pattern between the Central Government and the State Governments will be 60:40, while for the North Eastern States, Himalayan States, and Union Territories, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir it will be 90:10.
Section 6 of the law allows state governments to notify in advance a period aggregating to sixty days in a financial year, covering the peak agricultural seasons of sowing and harvesting. (ANI)