‘Can make a living in our own land’: Bihar labourers hail new VB-G RAM G scheme

Patna, Dec 20 The passage of the Viksit Bharat - Guaranteed Rozgar and Ajeevika (Grameen) Bill from Parliament may have provoked the Opposition, particularly the Congress, to assail the government, but the new law seems to be finding a positive connection with the masses, also evoking praise for the initiative.

In Bihar, many poor individuals and families are welcoming the VB G Ram G, which is set to replace the MGNREGA, seeking to align rural employment with the long-term vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

The VB G RAM G, cleared by both houses of Parliament after a marathon debate, promises to increase the number of employment days in a financial year, from 100 to 125 days for every rural household that volunteers for unskilled manual labour.

Many labourers from Bihar, speaking to IANS, expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for overhauling the existing scheme and said that this will help curb migration to a large extent, allowing them to earn their living in their state.

“This will stop migration from our state, and we won’t have to go to other states for employment,” said a labourer.

Many said that they had to move to other states for earning a livelihood, but with the G Ram G guaranteeing 125 days of work, they can stay back and feed themselves as well as their families.

Ashok Mistry, who supports his family through daily wages, said that he and his family will remain indebted to the Modi government for this scheme.

"We also used to migrate to other cities to earn a living, but now we will stay in our village with our children and work under this scheme," he said.

Janardan Prasad Singh said that he and his family are very happy with the new scheme and added that he was looking forward to working and staying with his family now, unlike moving to other states in search of a job.

Notably, under MGNREGA, if a person seeking work is not employed within 15 days, the state government must pay them an unemployment allowance. This provision has been retained in the new G RAM G bill.

In Jharkhand’s Palamu too, many landless workers praised the Centre for the G RAM G bill. Many echoed a common view that they now won’t have to migrate to other cities and states, like before.

A worker from Palamu said that the restructuring of MNREGA has been done to benefit the poor and marginalised families and thanked the Central government for working in their interest.

Another labourer, expressing happiness, said that the Centre has made provision for 125 days of employment, as compared to 100 days under MGNREGA.

“We will get 125 days of employment in our own village and place. We don’t need to go outside now, many thanks to PM Modi,” he added.

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