Himachal Pradesh News : Congress protests proposed MGNREGA overhaul; CM Sukhu terms it ‘anti-poor’

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday strongly criticised the proposed revamp of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), calling it anti-poor and detrimental to rural livelihoods.

The Chief Minister, along with members of his Cabinet, staged a protest near the Mahatma Gandhi statue at the Ridge in Shimla against the Centre’s decision to replace MGNREGA with the Viksit Bharat — Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, also referred to as the G RAM G Act.

Sukhu said the Congress would intensify its agitation at the district and block levels to expose what he described as the anti-people character of the new legislation.

He warned that Himachal Pradesh would be among the worst-affected states. “Under MGNREGA, the Centre bore the entire wage liability, while the state government provided an additional incentive of ₹80 per day to workers. Under the revised arrangement, the Centre will pay only 90 per cent of wages, forcing states to shoulder the remaining burden,” he said.

Emphasising the importance of decentralised planning, Sukhu asserted that MGNREGA must continue in its original spirit, driven by local needs. He said the scheme, introduced by the Congress-led UPA government under former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, had been a cornerstone of rural employment and inclusive growth.

According to the Chief Minister, works under MGNREGA were planned through resolutions passed by gram panchayats and gram sabhas, ensuring grassroots participation. However, the proposed mechanism centralises planning authority, sidelines panchayats, and allocates funds directly from the Centre, with projects notified only for selected areas.

Sukhu also expressed concern over the discontinuation of salaries for officers and employees posted in zila parishads under MGNREGA, warning that it would adversely affect the effective implementation of rural employment programmes.

BJP calls protest a ‘political gimmick’

Reacting sharply, former BJP state president and MLA Satpal Singh Satti dismissed the protest as a political gimmick.

Satti alleged that the Congress resorts to protests to mask its inability to govern and mislead the public. He claimed that the G RAM G Act goes beyond MGNREGA by guaranteeing 125 days of employment to rural families, compared to 100 days under the previous scheme.

He said a provision of over ₹1.51 lakh crore had been made for the new programme, with the Centre contributing more than ₹95,000 crore. Drawing comparisons, Satti said the UPA government spent ₹2.13 lakh crore on MGNREGA between 2006–07 and 2013–14, while the NDA government has spent over ₹8.53 lakh crore till 2024–25, creating nearly double the employment opportunities.

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