Karnataka to move Supreme Court over MGNREGA repeal, implement action plan for 2026-27

The decision was taken during the Karnataka Cabinet meeting held Thursday.

MGNREGA was repealed by the Centre when it passed the VB-G RAM G Act in December 2025. Karnataka has opposed the move and passed a resolution against the decision in the Assembly during the joint session of the legislature held in January this year.

Patil said that neither was there a gazette notification regarding VB-G RAM G, nor were any rules framed regarding its implementation. “Two months into the financial year, there is no alternative arrangement (for rural employment). So, the state government is of the view that continuing MGNREGA was essential in the public interest,” the minister said.

While the Centre has asked the state to complete pending works under MGNREGA, no grants were allocated in the Budget. The state’s first request concerned the implementation of the MGNREGA; the other dealt with the impact on the Right to Work, which it said was being curtailed.

“Rural population will be the worst hit,” he said, accusing the Centre of unilaterally withdrawing MGNREGA without consulting the state government.

The petition will be filed at the earliest, he added.

Karnataka is among the states opposing the VB-G RAM G Act, calling it anti-federal and financially burdensome. The state has argued that the new law unfairly shifts costs to states by requiring them to bear 40 per cent of the expenditure, unlike the earlier system under which the Centre funded beneficiaries’ wages.