Overview
- Parliament’s VB-G RAM G Act is now law with presidential assent, guaranteeing 125 days of work while keeping wage payments with the Centre and moving 40% of material and administrative costs to states.
- The Punjab Assembly on December 30 unanimously urged restoration of the original MGNREGA, as AAP ministers led protests and pledged to take the agitation to Delhi.
- Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called the Punjab resolution undemocratic and flagged implementation lapses, citing incomplete social audits and about 10,653 financial irregularity cases in the state.
- Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema alleged over ₹23,000 crore in unpaid MGNREGA dues, including ₹12,219 crore in wages, arguing the overhaul hollows out the guarantee and strains state finances.
- Congress has announced nationwide demonstrations from early January to demand MGNREGA’s restoration, while BJP units plan public outreach, including a Jharkhand awareness drive from January 8 to 10 to counter what they call misinformation.