CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has opposed the Centre's proposed implementation of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee scheme, alleging that the new framework would impose an additional financial burden of over Rs 5,000 crore on the state and create restrictive operational challenges.
In a letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, he said certain provisions of the VB G RAMG Act, 2025 require critical modifications and relaxations, without which the seamless and effective execution of this scheme on the ground would suffer significantly and will affect the rural population which is dependent on the rural employment programme".
Referring to the fund-sharing pattern, the CM said the current guidelines mandate 60:40 ratio between the Union and State across the wage, material, and administrative components.
"As MGNREGS operated under a different structure for two decades, this abrupt shift places an unsustainable strain on the state exchequer, which may reduce available wage employment days or crowd out other essential welfare schemes," he said.
"I therefore request that 100 per cent funding be maintained for the wage and administrative components, with the material component shared on a 75:25 basis between the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu," he said.
Claiming that the proposed centralized methodology for classifying village panchayats and distribution within the state normative allocations introduces micromanagement, the chief minister said, "uniform, formulaic national approach fails to account for regional socio-economic diversity and risks lopsided grassroot allocations".
Vijay sought greater flexibility for states to formulate their own methodology for intra-state distribution based on localized, ground-level needs.
On the notification of peak agricultural seasons, he said, "the Act mandates that the state notify a fixed 60-day period per financial year covering peak sowing and harvesting, during which works are suspended."
"However, unpredictable climate fluctuations such as El Niño frequently alter agricultural timelines, creating sudden unseasonal labour demand or a sharp need for safety-net employment during pre-notified peak periods," the chief minister said.