VB-G RAM G better scheme than MGNREGA; Cong spreading misinformation: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan charged on Sunday that corruption was rampant under the MGNREGA and accused the Congress of spreading misinformation on the VB-G RAM G scheme.
Addressing a press conference here, Chouhan slammed the Congress for its upcoming campaign against the VB-G RAM G scheme and asked why Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was not present in the Lok Sabha during a debate on the issue.
“The Congress has announced a MGNREGA Bachao Sangram. It is actually a save corruption campaign,” he said.
“MGNREGA had become synonymous with corruption. Under social audits done by gram sabhas, there were more than 10,51,000 complaints. The same work was repeated, work was done by machines, money was siphoned off in the name of cleaning canals, roads, 30 per cent workers were above the age of 60,” Chouhan said. “An amount of more than Rs 8,48,000 crore has been given under the (Narendra) Modi government, while over Rs 2 lakh crore were given during the (Congress-led) UPA (regime). Were permanent assets created? Could the money be used for development?” he asked.
“The Congress is a factory of lies. It is now saying that workers will not get work,” the Union minister said, while asserting that the interests of workers would be better protected under VB-G RAM G. Chouhan said in the next financial year, an amount of Rs 1,51,282 crore would be allocated for the scheme, of which, the Centre’s share would be more than Rs 95,600 crore.
“There is enough money for 125 days. It will also ensure the development of villages,” he added.
Asserting that “VB-G RAM G is a better scheme than MGNREGA”, he said, “My appeal to the Congress is that it should not spread misinformation and lies. Instead, it should thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making this scheme better.”
Chouhan said under the new scheme, concrete work for rural development would be undertaken in the form of projects on water conservation, roads, schools, anganwadi buildings, hospitals, ponds, check dams, FPO (farmer-producer organisation) structures and natural-disaster management.
“This plan is a blueprint for making villages self-reliant and independent,” he said. He also mentioned the provision of stopping the work under the scheme for 60 days in the peak agriculture season, which he said would ensure availability of labour for agriculture.
The Congress on Saturday announced a nationwide “MGNREGA Bachao Sangram” from January 10 to February 25 to demand the withdrawal of the VB G-RAM-G Act, restoration of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) as a rights-based law, the right to work and the authority of panchayats.
The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Bill, or VB-G RAM G, was passed with a voice vote amid protests in the Rajya Sabha on December 18, 2025, hours after the Lok Sabha cleared it. On December 21, President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Bill, making it an Act, which replaces the rural employment law, MGNREGA, guaranteeing 125 days of wage employment per rural household every financial year.
The move was met with protests from opposition parties as well as activists, who have argued that the rights-based approach under the earlier law has been changed and also opposed Mahatma Gandhi’s name being removed from the name of the scheme.
According to the rural development ministry, VB-G RAM G aims to establish a “future-ready, convergence-driven, saturation-oriented rural development architecture”. The government has argued that it aims to transform rural employment from a standalone welfare intervention into an integrated instrument of development.
Among the main criticisms of the new scheme is the cost being split 60:40 between the Centre and states, while under the MGNREGA, wages were fully paid by the Centre.
VB-G RAM G provides for normative allocation to states and any expenditure beyond it has to be borne by the states, which has been criticised by activists and opposition parties, who have said it destroys the scheme’s demand-driven nature.