CHENNAI: Urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to implement the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, which was passed by Parliament on Thursday, Chief Minister MK Stalin said key changes made for this scheme would alter the fundamental rights-based nature of the MGNREGA.
In a letter to the PM, Stalin said the five key changes proposed in the new Bill would also adversely affect states’ finances and undermine the livelihoods of millions of rural labourers.
He urged the PM to retain the existing scheme, while incorporating select provisions of the proposed Bill — such as increasing guaranteed employment to 125 days and avoiding work during peak agricultural seasons — through amendments made in consultation with states.
While describing the proposal to enhance guaranteed employment as a welcome step, the CM said the remaining provisions eroded MGNREGA’s core principles, imposed severe financial burdens on states and weakened federalism.
Stalin pointed out that the Bill replaces MGNREGA’s demand-driven framework with centrally fixed, state-wise allocations, effectively capping expenditure and shifting excess costs to states.
For high-demand states like Tamil Nadu, where climatic and geographical factors lead to greater dependence on the scheme, this could result in a reduction in person-days and wages, worsening hardship for rural workers.
Under MGNREGA, the union government bears 100% of unskilled wage costs and administrative expenses, with a 75:25 sharing for material costs. The proposed 60:40 cost-sharing formula covering wages, materials and administration, he said, would impose a substantial additional burden on states already facing fiscal constraints.
The CM further warned that mandating a district-wise cap of up to 60 days of no work could disrupt continuous livelihood support, particularly in regions with varying agricultural cycles.
Provisions allowing the centre to notify implementation areas and integrate plans with national stacks reduce decentralised planning by gram panchayats and undermine grassroots democracy. Also, renaming the scheme erases the link to Gandhi’s vision of gram swaraj and decentralisation, which MGNREGA embodied, he added.
Highlighting Tamil Nadu’s track record, the CM said the scheme has been effectively implemented in the state since 2006, generating an average of 30 crore person-days of employment annually and disbursing around Rs 12,000 crore in wages each year. Between 2021-22 and 2024-25, the state generated an average of 30 crore person-days, while in 2023-24 alone, 40.87 crore person-days were created, with wages amounting to Rs 13,400 crore paid to workers.
