Farm workers’ unions, activists announce protest from July 1 for VB-G RAM G repeal

The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha and the Joint Platform for Agricultural and Rural Workers’ Unions on Wednesday announced an indefinite countrywide protest from July 1, demanding the repeal of the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G).

The VB-G RAM G scheme will come into force on July 1, replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), launched by the Congress-led UPA government in 2006.

Announcing the protest at a press conference in New Delhi, the organisations rejected the government’s claim that the new scheme would increase the number of guaranteed work days from 100 to 125 per rural household. They cited the recent budgetary allocation to show that the funds, in the best-case scenario, would provide only 42 days of work in a financial year.

The organisations said the protests would continue until the proposed law is repealed. Taking a decentralised approach, these would be held at the panchayat level, the activists said.

Fewer work days

An analysis of the Centre’s proposed interim allocations announced on June 9 indicates a significant gap between the promised 125 days of work and the employment that can actually be generated, the activists said. In major States, the allocations would support far fewer person-days per active job card – Andhra Pradesh (42.35 days), Chhattisgarh (39.07), Bihar (30.94), Karnataka (26.44), Madhya Pradesh (25.66), Uttar Pradesh (27.50), Maharashtra (14.40), and Haryana (13.78).

The VB-G RAM G draft rules require States to contribute 40% of the programme cost, putting an unprecedented burden on the States, said Nikhil Dey of the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha. No major State has allocations sufficient to provide even half of the promised 125 days, the organisations said.

The funding shortfall is also reflected in the additional resources required to meet the proposed guarantee. Estimates suggest that States would need substantial extra funds, including ₹27,987 crore in Uttar Pradesh, ₹31,013 crore in Maharashtra, ₹22,549 crore in Rajasthan, and ₹27,212 crore in Tamil Nadu, among others.

The government, which released the draft rules on May 22, has given time till June 20 to submit feedback. Giving a preview of the feedback that will be sent to the Ministry of Rural Development, Mr. Dey said, “Our first demand is that VB-G RAM G is rolled back and the NREGA, which is a demand-based employment guarantee programme, be brought back.” Criticising VB-G RAM G, Mr. Dey said it removed the entire demand-based infrastructure.

Silent on wage revision

The draft rules for the new scheme, he pointed out, were completely silent on the revision of wage rates, which is very concerning, since the majority of States had below the minimum wage for MGNREGA workers.  The draft rules also insist on continuing with only the job cards that have been verified via e-KYC. “The draft rules also call for the making of new job cards based on e-KYC, a digital requirement that has caused devastation across the country,” Mr. Dey added.

Workers from several States described persistent difficulties with the digital systems introduced in recent years, which the draft rules appear to institutionalise further. Madhulika of the Rajasthan Asangathit Mazdoor Union cited instances where workers were not recognised by facial-recognition systems due to minor changes in appearance. “Women said they have to wear the same sari and blouse to be recognised by the machine,” she said, adding that software updates had resulted in worksites disappearing from official records.

Announcing a nationwide mobilisation for the protest, B. Venkat, general secretary of the All India Agricultural Workers’ Union (AIAWU), said a majority of the workers are women, while 25% are Dalits and Adivasis. “The attack on workers is clearly an attack on social justice,” he said.

Further, the government’s claim that no worker would be left without employment during the transition period between MGNREGA and VB-G RAM G was also challenged by the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha. Citing data from the first five months of 2026, the activists said there has been a decline in employment generation compared to the same period in 2025 across several large States, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand.