The Centre on Tuesday announced a major financial and policy initiative aimed at strengthening rural employment and accelerating village development, with a new framework set to come into effect from July 1.
Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan chaired a meeting of State Rural Development Ministers through video conferencing on Monday to review preparedness for the implementation of the ‘Viksit Bharat GRAMG’ initiative. Union Minister of State Chandrasekhar Pemmasani also participated in the meeting.
Addressing ministers from States and Union Territories, Chouhan said the transition to the new arrangement should be smooth and worker-centric, ensuring that employment generation, wage payments and workers’ rights remain unaffected.
“This is not merely a transition of a scheme, but an issue connected with the lives and livelihoods of crores of workers. Not a single worker should remain without work even for a day,” the Minister said.
He informed that the Centre has already allocated ₹30,000 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). In addition, an interim allocation of ₹95,692 crore has been released to States and Union Territories, taking the total allocation beyond ₹1.25 lakh crore.
According to the Minister, the funds will reach nearly 2.8 lakh Gram Panchayats across the country and support development works identified under the provisions of the Act, while generating employment and creating durable rural assets.
Chouhan urged States to grant advance approvals for an adequate number of projects so that implementation can begin immediately from July 1. He also stressed the need for timely wage payments and uninterrupted execution of development works.
Reviewing administrative preparedness, the Minister said several States have made significant progress in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), SMS-based information systems, e-KYC and face authentication processes.
He noted that 26 States have already made budgetary provisions in line with the objective of ‘Viksit Bharat-Gramin Bharat’. Jharkhand, Karnataka, Telangana and Mizoram have been urged to complete the process at the earliest.
The Minister also directed States to issue notifications for implementation, identify agricultural peak seasons, ensure 100 per cent e-KYC coverage and organise awareness and capacity-building programmes at district and block levels.
Highlighting the role of local institutions, Chouhan said development works under the initiative would be selected through Gram Panchayats and Gram Sabhas before being finalised for implementation.
Among the major allocations announced, Uttar Pradesh received ₹9,721.48 crore, West Bengal ₹8,508 crore, Andhra Pradesh ₹7,707.21 crore, Tamil Nadu ₹7,585.49 crore, Rajasthan ₹7,581.87 crore, Bihar ₹6,715.83 crore and Madhya Pradesh ₹6,252.03 crore.
The Centre has allocated a total of ₹92,550.17 crore to States and ₹1,291.52 crore to Union Territories. An additional ₹1,850.62 crore has been earmarked for central administration and social audit activities, taking the overall interim allocation to ₹95,692.31 crore.
The Minister described the initiative as an important step towards building ‘Viksit Gaon’ as part of the broader vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’. He said its success would depend on the preparedness and active participation of States.
Chouhan also invited States to participate in the National Rural Development Conference scheduled to be held at the PUSA Institute in New Delhi on June 28 and 29, where detailed discussions on implementation will take place.
Expressing confidence in the initiative, the Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and with the cooperation of all States, the programme would contribute significantly to transforming rural India and improving livelihoods across the country.
