CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the renaming of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) into Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G), 2025 would strain the Centre–State relations, urging the Centre to repeal the Bill.
In his letter, CM Stalin described MGNREGA as a cornerstone of rural livelihood security, providing a rights-based and demand-driven guarantee of employment to millions of rural households.
He pointed out that Tamil Nadu has implemented the scheme effectively since 2006, generating an average of 30 crore person-days of employment annually and disbursing around Rs 12,000 crore in wages.
He noted that MGNREGA has been vital for economically weaker sections, particularly SC and ST communities, in a State with long non-rainy periods, limited perennial irrigation sources, and high dependence on wage employment.
Welcoming the proposed increase in guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days under the new Bill, Stalin cautioned that several other provisions would fundamentally undermine the core principles of MGNREGA, impose severe financial burdens on states, and erode the federal structure.
The Chief Minister flagged key concerns, including the shift from a demand-driven to a supply-driven allocation system, which would allow the Union government to fix state-wise expenditure ceilings.
Opposing the new funding pattern, he said the proposed 60:40 ratio (Union and State) would place a tremendous additional financial burden on states already facing fiscal constraints.
“Tamil Nadu stands ready to engage constructively to ensure that the rural employment guarantee remains a robust, demand-driven safety net for the nation’s rural poor,” Stalin said.
Meanwhile, CM Stalin accused Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) of taking a "soft and misleading" position on the renaming of the MGNREGA.
The DMK president alleged that EPS seemed more intent on "appeasing Delhi" than defending TN's interests over the issue. He questioned whether the LoP was unaware that Tamil Nadu was being "penalised for its achievements," drawing a parallel with proposals to reduce the state's Parliamentary constituencies due to successful population control.