The Bharatiya Janata Party, Nagaland on Wednesday outlined the rationale behind the new VB-G RAM G Bill (Vikshit Bharat Guaranteed for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission- Gramin), a legislation aimed at overhauling the existing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA/NREGA) to align with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 to build a more developed, equitable and prosperous India.
Addressing a press conference here at BJP Dimapur office, Co-General Secretary and Spokesman, Sunep C Jamir said, “India lives in the village” stressing that 68.8% of India’s population resides in rural areas, as per the 2011 census. “For any society or any nation to carry forward towards a developed nation, it is very important and critical to uplift this major chunk — more than 60% of the population,” he said
Jamir emphasized that MGNREGA, enacted in 2005, is now more than 20 years old, and in that period, rural realities have changed dramatically. He cited data showing that rural poverty has declined sharply from 27.1% in 2012-13 to 5.7% in 2022-23, reflecting a transformation in income generation among rural masses.
He further highlighted the drastic rise in digital penetration, improved physical infrastructure including road connectivity, and expansion of livelihood support systems such as Jan Dhan Yojana and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). “In order to capture the new reality in the rural area, it was important for bringing a new bill which will reflect the actual reality of the rural area,” Jamir asserted.
He described the bill as a mission driven by self-reliance under Atmanirbhar Bharat, adding, “It is not only giving gainful employment to the people, but it has become a wealth generation.”
He said a major reform under the VB-G RAM G Bill is the increase of guaranteed employment from 100 days to 125 days per rural household, expanding income support for villagers. Jamir also clarified that while MGNREGA was “demand-driven”, resulting in scattered work implementation and lack of focus, the new bill adopts a “normative funding” model based on budgeting and structured planning.
Jamir further stated that under VB-G RAM G, the programme focuses on four areas: Water Security; Rural Infrastructure (Road connectivity, solid waste management); Livelihood Infrastructure (Grain storage, financial assistance to Self-Help Groups); and Climate Resilience.
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Responding to a question on accountability for fund delays, Jamir reiterated that the State Government will be accountable. “Earlier it was demand-driven, but now it is normative. Delay, everything will be borne by the State Government. That is how accountability is embedded in this system,” he explained.
Replying to a query on fund sharing, the BJP Spokesperson said when MGNREGA started 20 years ago in Nagaland, it was fully sponsored by the Centre and it did a lot of development, but not everywhere. He further explained that fund sharing under VB-G RAM G would be 60:40 for most states, but 90:10 for Northeastern states, including Nagaland with 90% central sponsorship. He assured that the 10% state share is not intended to burden the state, but to ensure accountability and vigilance.
He said unlike the older model, village Panchayats and Village Councils would develop the plans first, which would then filter up through block, district and state levels, integrating with PM Gati Shakti and the National Rural Infrastructure Stack. “We are strengthening Decentralized Planning. Planning will start at the village level, go to the Block, then District, then State, and then to the Centre,” he stressed.
Addressing concerns around Job Cards, Jamir acknowledged longstanding confusion in villages where some people with government jobs still hold job cards, leading to miscommunication and loopholes. “Under the new bill, there will be strict biometric verification. DBT is already there, but now the screening will be tougher. The Steering Committees from village to state level will scrutinize the lists. We want to remove the loopholes that existed in the old system,” he said.
Highlighting under-utilization of the earlier scheme, Jamir revealed: “You will be surprised — in the old MGNREGA, although 100 days were guaranteed, only 7.6% of households actually completed the full 100 days of work in the last financial year. That means 93.4% were not getting the full benefit. Also, misappropriation of funds was also reported to be very high.”
To fix these gaps, he said the new system would use AI-based monitoring and geospatial tagging (GPS) to track assets created under the programme. “Every asset created will be tracked. No one will be left behind—this includes persons with disabilities and women. Any adult who is willing to volunteer for manual work in a rural household can avail of these 125 days,” he assured.
BJP general secretary, Manai Konyak, BJP Dimapur District President, V Shekishe Achumi and Media Cell incharge, Nini Cheng were also present during the press conference.
