EDITORIAL
Reforms succeed only if executed in a professional manner
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday said that his government is fully prepared to roll out the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025, in the state to replace the former MGNREGA scheme.
Sawant stated that the new Act has brought significant changes from the previous MGNREGA, aiming to align rural employment with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, adding that the guaranteed wage employment has been increased from 100 days to 125 days per rural household per financial year. “The first preferential groups under the new scheme will be single women, divyangs (persons with disabilities), vulnerable tribal groups, and persons between 60 to 75 years of age,” he said, adding that they will be issued fresh rural employment cards.
The Act was passed in December 2025 and states are required to prepare their specific schemes to give effect to the guarantee within six months of the Act’s commencement. According to the Act, all works will be identified through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans (VGPPs), which are claimed to be “bottom-up, convergence-based and saturation-oriented.” These plans will be aggregated at the block, district and state levels to ensure alignment with broader sectoral priorities, thereby creating a unified rural development framework. The VGPPs will be prepared using spatial technology and integrated with PM Gati Shakti to enable coordinated and efficient planning.
The Act links wage employment with the creation of durable, productive rural assets across four priority areas: water conservation, soil enrichment, land development, and rural connectivity. Daily wages are required to be paid within 15 days of the work being completed. Also, the states are liable to pay a mandatory unemployment allowance to workers if work is not provided within 15 days of demand.
The funding model has changed to a 60:40 cost-sharing formula between the Centre and states for most states, including Goa. Under MGNREGA, there was no financial burden on the state as it was funded 100 per cent by the Centre. Sawant said that the new Act allows state governments to notify a period of up to 60 days during peak sowing and harvesting seasons when no public works will be undertaken, to ensure the availability of labour for agriculture. According to the CM, the new framework mandates the use of technology for monitoring, including biometric authentication, GPS tracking of worksites, and mandatory social audits twice a year.
On the role of the Zilla Panchayats in this scheme, he said that the government has already provided training for preparing district-level planning and their role will be important for the implementation of the scheme.
Awareness about the scheme is being conducted in all panchayats. It is always said that Goans do not take up menial jobs. Our elected representatives from the hinterlands may not fully agree with this, as there are locals who are working side by side with outside labour in farms, cashew plantations, paddy fields, etc. If gram sevaks and panchayat members do their work in collaboration with community leaders, they would be able to draw up a list of the unemployed willing to work as casual labourers. The government’s decision to give preference for jobs to single women, PwDs, and tribals is to be welcomed. These are the vulnerable groups who need support. Basic training, if required, could be imparted to them. Hopefully, the scheme will be implemented in a professional manner. If done, it will help in help in reducing unemployment in the state.
