BJP prepares district outreach on rural employment guarantee Act

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday organised a state-level workshop at its state office in Ranchi on the Developed India Employment and Livelihood Guarantee Mission (Rural), focusing on the provisions of the proposed VB G Ram G Act, 2025.

The workshop was chaired by BJP Jharkhand president and Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi. Union Minister for Power, Housing and Urban Affairs and former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar attended as the chief guest. Senior party leaders, district-level committee members and speakers from across the state were present.

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The programme aimed to counter what the BJP described as misinformation being spread by the Congress and other opposition parties on the Act and to prepare party workers to communicate its provisions at the grassroots level.

Addressing the workshop and a press interaction, Manohar Lal Khattar said the VB G Ram G Act, 2025 seeks to make rural employment a vehicle for sustainable development in line with the vision of Developed India 2047. He said weak administrative systems, corruption and a demand-driven framework had gradually reduced the long-term impact of MGNREGA.

He said the earlier demand-based model often led to financial imbalance and the creation of unnecessary works, resulting in wastage of public funds and labour. Under the new Act, projects would be approved based on the actual needs of villages. Rural works would be planned through developed Gram Panchayat plans and consolidated at the block, district and state levels.

Khattar said the annual employment guarantee has been increased from 100 to 125 days, along with provisions for quicker wage payments and unemployment allowance if work is not provided. He added that projects would be categorised into four areas: water security and management, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure and climate-resilient works.

On anti-corruption measures, he said the Act provides for AI-based monitoring, GPS tracking, central and state-level steering committees, Panchayat-level oversight and weekly public disclosure of projects. States’ financial participation has been increased to a 60:40 ratio to strengthen accountability, he added.

Babulal Marandi said the Congress was uneasy with efforts to curb corruption and had moved away from Gandhian ideals, while asserting that the present government was pursuing development in line with those principles.

Executive BJP president and MP Aditya Sahu accused the Congress of opposing the Act for political reasons and urged party workers to take its message to the people. Regional organisation general secretary Nagendra Tripathi and state organisation general secretary Karmveer Singh also addressed the gathering.

The BJP announced that similar workshops would be organised in all districts of Jharkhand on January 15, 16 and 17.