Punjab erupts against proposed MGNREGA overhaul with VB-G RAM G Bill; copies burnt, CM Mann calls special Assembly sessio

In a post on X, Mann said, “The BJP-led central government is trying to push poor families towards hunger by changing the ‘MGNREGA’ scheme, which has been a means of livelihood for the poor and workers. To raise the voice of Punjabis strongly against this high-handedness, a special session of the Punjab Legislative Assembly will be convened in the second week of January.”

However, labour and farmer unions noted that while the state government has taken a strong stand against MGNREGA, it has so far remained silent on the draft Electricity Amendment Bill, which is also being opposed by several states, including Punjab, for allegedly paving the way for privatisation in the power sector.

Labour unions intensify protests

On the ground, the resistance is being spearheaded by labour and farmer organisations. On the call of a joint front of rural and farm labour organisations, the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union on Thursday staged protests against “anti-worker amendments” to the MGNREGA. Effigies of the Centre and copies of the proposed VB-G RAM G Bill were burnt in dozens of villages across Sri Muktsar Sahib, Faridkot, Moga, Sangrur and Bathinda districts.

The union’s state general secretary Lachhman Singh Sewewala and state president Jora Singh Nasrali said demonstrations were held at multiple locations, addressed by leaders, including Gurpal Singh Nangal, Major Singh Kaleke, Gurjant Singh Saunke, and others.

Labour leaders alleged that the Narendra Modi-led government is not only diluting employment guarantees by altering the MGNREGA, but is also pushing the ideological agenda of the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) by removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme. They said rural and farm workers, already facing chronic unemployment due to privatisation and policies following the Green Revolution, were receiving only limited employment under MGNREGA, which now faces further dilution.

What is changing? MGNREGA to VB-G RAM G

MGNREGA, enacted in 2005, guarantees 100 days of unskilled manual work per rural household as a statutory right, making the government legally bound to provide employment on demand or pay unemployment allowance. It is widely regarded as a rights-based welfare law rather than a discretionary scheme.

The Central government has now introduced the VB-G RAM G Bill, which was passed by Parliament on Thursday but is yet to receive Presidential assent to become law.

Under the proposed framework, the number of guaranteed workdays would increase from 100 to 125 days per household, but the structure of the programme changes significantly. The Centre’s share of funding is proposed to be reduced from around 90 per cent to 60 per cent, with states required to bear 40 per cent of the cost. Employment generation would be tied to pre-approved budgets, fixed plans and priority sectors, rather than being fully demand-driven as under MGNREGA. Seasonal pauses during peak agricultural months, greater digital monitoring, and a focus on asset creation linked to infrastructure and investment needs are also proposed.

The government maintains that these changes will modernise rural employment, improve asset quality and ensure faster payments.

Why Punjab is opposing it

Labour unions, farmer bodies and Opposition parties in Punjab argue that the new Bill weakens the statutory right to employment and shifts the financial burden onto already debt-ridden states. “Punjab is reeling under debt. Asking the state to contribute 40 per cent will directly reduce employment days for workers,” said Sewewala, adding that implementation under the new model would be extremely difficult.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) also joined the protest, warning the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre against “encroaching upon subjects in the State List and Concurrent List”. SKM extended solidarity to the labour organisations and called for Friday to be observed as a nationwide protest day, during which copies of the VB-G RAM G Bill were burnt in Punjab villages.

SKM termed the Bill “the most retrograde legislation” and accused the Centre of bulldozing a historic law that ensured employment as a legal right. “MGNREGA was not just a rural employment scheme, it was a demand-based programme aimed at creating essential rural infrastructure. The new model converts it into a government-investment-driven programme aligned with corporate interests,” an SKM leader said.

Women constitute a large share of MGNREGA workers and any rollback would disproportionately affect women, Dalits and Adivasis, SKM leaders said, besides weakening local self-governance institutions like panchayats.

What lies ahead

Labour organisations have announced that protests will intensify, with dharnas planned outside deputy commissioners’ offices on January 6 and 7.

As copies of the VB-G RAM G Bill continue to be burnt in villages, Punjab appears set for a prolonged confrontation with the Centre. Already, protests are happening in the state against the draft Electricity Amendment Bill 2025 and the draft Seeds Bill 2025. The state unit of the BJP, which had a poor show in the recently concluded zila parishad and block samiti polls, is likely to face further challenges in rural areas.