The Central Government on Tuesday announced the release of interim allocation of Rs 95,692 crore under the Vikas Bharat Guaranteed Employment and Livelihood Mission (VB-Ji Ram Ji). Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has assured that there will be no hindrance in rural employment and development works during the change. Chauhan said in a press conference after the meeting with the rural development ministers of the states that the rules of the new scheme are still being prepared in the final form, hence this interim allocation has been made.
He said that we are moving from Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) to VB-G Ram Ji Mission, but it has been ensured that the workers do not face any inconvenience and there is not even a day’s difference in the availability of work.
UP gets the most money
According to the Ministry of Rural Development, Uttar Pradesh has been given the highest interim allocation of Rs 9,721.48 crore, followed by West Bengal at Rs 8,508 crore, Tamil Nadu at Rs 7,585.49 crore, Rajasthan at Rs 7,581.87 crore, Andhra Pradesh at Rs 7,707.21 crore and Bihar at Rs 6,715.83 crore. The total allocation for states is Rs 92,550.17 crore, while Rs 1,291.52 crore has been allocated to Union Territories. An additional Rs 1,850.62 crore has been allocated for central administration and social audits, taking the total amount to Rs 95,692.31 crore.
no deductions made
Chauhan said that after adding the required contribution of the state, the total annual expenditure under this scheme will be around Rs 1.51 lakh crore. Allaying the concerns of opposition parties and labor organizations, the minister said that the amount earmarked for any state has not been cut and the interim allocation has been decided on the basis of the expenditure incurred under the MGNREGA scheme last year. He said that 26 states have completed the necessary procedural requirements to implement the new scheme, while four states – Jharkhand, Karnataka, Telangana and Mizoram – are yet to complete all the formalities.
However, representatives of these states participated in the meeting and assured the Center that they are preparing to implement it. The minister said that the states have been asked to notify the state scheme, declare the peak farming season, make state rules, complete e-KYC of the beneficiaries and do awareness and capacity-building work at the district and block level.
Answer on the question of Bengal
Regarding West Bengal, which was having a dispute with the Center regarding Rural Development Fund for many years, Chauhan said that the newly elected government of the state has told in writing that it is ready to accept all the conditions of the Centre. When asked whether the Rs 8,508 crore allocation for West Bengal included the dues under the MGNREGA scheme, Chouhan said the disputes related to old dues were still unresolved.
He said that until those disputes are resolved, this question does not arise. For the remaining time, the West Bengal Government has given in writing that it is ready to accept all the terms and conditions of the Central Government. He further said that under the existing framework, an interim allocation of about Rs 700 crore has been made to West Bengal for the remaining period till June 30 and the new allocation under VB-G RAM G will be applicable from July.
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