Before criticising VB-G RAM G, explain why Punjab gave only 26 days’ work this year under MGNREGS, says BJP’s Sunil Jakhar

“Before calling a special session, the Punjab CM must explain why the state government has not been able to provide 100 days of work per household per year so far, even before any such Bill was passed,” Jakhar said.

Citing official data from the MGNREGS portal, Jakhar pointed out that in the current financial year, Punjab has provided an average of only 26.52 days of work per household till mid-December. In 2024-25, the average stood at 37.63 days. “At that time, there was no such Bill. Then who was stopping the Punjab government from providing work to labourers?” he asked.

Jakhar also referred to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s visit to Punjab last month, during which MGNREGA workers allegedly raised complaints of corruption in the scheme during a meeting in Jalandhar. “The Union minister even marked an inquiry by the central government team. Denying benefits to the poor is a sin. When corruption complaints were coming up, why was the state silent?” he said, adding that amendments to the scheme were necessary to streamline its implementation.

Meanwhile, complaints had emerged from Muktsar, Bathinda and Fazilka in which workers had alleged that contractors were being awarded NREGS works while registered workers were sitting idle, besides many other complaints which were given in writing.

Jakhar downplayed the controversy surrounding the renaming of the scheme, saying that corruption, not nomenclature, should be the focus. “Associating Mahatma Gandhi’s name with a scheme or not should not be made a bigger issue. As Shakespeare rightly said, ‘What is in a name?’”

Targeting Mann’s decision to convene a special session, Jakhar questioned why a similar session was not being called to discuss Punjab’s law and order situation.

While acknowledging Punjab’s strained finances, Jakhar referred to provisions under VB-G RAM G that propose reducing the Centre’s funding share from around 90 per cent to 60 per cent, with the states bearing 40 per cent of the cost. “Punjab has enough resources if it sets its house in order. If crores can be spent on self-promotion, there is no excuse for not helping the poor and deserving,” he said.

MGNREGS figures in Punjab

According to MGNREGS data, the average work provided per household in Punjab was 37.97 days in 2022-23, 41.34 days in 2023-24, and 37.88 days in 2021-22. In terms of households completing the full 100 days of work, only 3,669 households have done so in the current financial year till mid-December. This figure was significantly higher in previous years — 13,049 households in 2024-25; 15,078 in 2023-24; 13,534 in 2022-23; and 24,053 in 2021-22.

The number of households that received any employment under the scheme in the current financial year is around 7.46 lakh till mid-December, compared to 8.34 lakh in 2024-25, 8.49 lakh in 2023-24, 8.47 lakh in 2022-23, and 8.75 lakh in 2021-22, as per the official data.

Despite these irregularities, labour unions in Punjab, along with the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), have demanded the repeal of the VB-G RAM G, expressing apprehensions over reduced central funding and potential dilution of workers’ rights.

Defending his move to convene a special Assembly session, CM Bhagwant Mann said in a post on X that the BJP-led Centre was “pushing poor families towards hunger” by changing MGNREGA, which he described as a crucial livelihood support for rural 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,” the chief minister said.