TN asks Centre to scrap VB-G RAM-G, restore MGNREGA to reduce financial burden
The Tamil Nadu Government on Tuesday urged the Centre to withdraw the recently passed VB-G RAM G act and restore the UPA-era rural employment scheme, MGNREGA, thereby easing the State’s financial burden.
The discontinuation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has not only hindered development in rural areas but also increased the financial strain on the State Government, it said.
“Due to the Viksit Bharat— Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) VB-G RAM G, the financial burden on Tamil Nadu will further increase by approximately Rs 5,000 crore per annum,” Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M Appavu said while reading out the Governor’s address to the Assembly.
The governor had walked out of the State Assembly without delivering his customary address during the maiden session of the year, citing “inaccuracies” in the text prepared by the DMK Government.
Reading the Tamil version of the governor’s address, Appavu said the new scheme VB-G RAM G undermined the fundamental objective of the MGNREGA, a programme designed to ensure wage employment for crores of poor and underprivileged people in rural areas, particularly women and AdiDravidar communities. He noted that through MGNREGS, which provides social security to the rural poor, numerous projects such as infrastructure development, natural resource conservation, greening and watershed management have been successfully implemented in rural areas.
Tamil Nadu has consistently received several national awards for the successful implementation of this scheme.
“Considering that the State Government is already facing significant challenges in implementing its own schemes due to the increased State share under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes, the introduction of this new scheme must be viewed as part of the Centre’s adverse intent,” he said.
On language policy, the State Government reaffirmed that the Tamil Nadu State Education Policy continues to follow the two-language formula of Tamil and English, a policy maintained since 1968.
