Central Government Is Writing the Death Knell for Employment Guarantee Scheme in Keralam, Says KSKTU

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Karshaka Thozhilali Union (KSKTU) has said that replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Grameen) — VB-GRAM G — amounts to sabotaging the very goal of guaranteed employment. KSKTU state president Anaavoor Nagappan and general secretary N Chandran said in a statement that converting the grassroots-driven employment scheme into a top-down, centrally planned programme will cost rural workers both their jobs and wages.

The union pointed out that the largest allocation under the new scheme has gone to BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, which received Rs 3,210.76 crore, while Keralam has been allotted only Rs 925.33 crore. The allocation reflects a central government approach of lavishing funds on favoured states, which the union called a violation of federal principles. Through such moves, they said, the Centre is desperate to undermine the employment guarantee scheme in Keralam. The state government, meanwhile, is maintaining silence over the Centre's anti-worker stance, they alleged.

VB-GRAM G, which came into force on July 1, begins with the preparation of a Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan. A comprehensive inventory of all assets and facilities in each panchayat — including those created through central and state schemes — is to be prepared for this purpose. The union said converting a scheme that was previously demand-driven from the ground up into one shaped by top-down directives is highly objectionable, as it allows those in power at the Centre to decide work sites and even deny employment at will.

The Centre is now directing states to bear 40 percent of the cost of centrally designed projects. By prioritising central preferences over the needs of workers and states, the union said, the government is shirking its constitutional responsibility to guarantee employment. The KSKTU said the Centre intends to gradually shift the entire burden onto states and eventually write the obituary of the employment guarantee scheme, and called for strong protests against centre's cruel move against the poor.