The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha has demanded an immediate halt to the implementation of the VB-GRAMG Act, which is set to replace MGNREGA.
The workers’ platform says the new rural employment law is being rolled out without meaningful consultation with workers’ representatives and civil society groups.
NSM alleges that the draft rules were released on 23 May 2026, with feedback due by 21 June, even as implementation has been announced from 1 July.
The group says concerns over technology-based attendance systems, low wage rates, pending payments and reduced employment remain unresolved.
It has urged the government to revise the draft rules through a fair and transparent consultation process before any rollout.
The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha has demanded an immediate halt to the implementation of the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, alleging that the law is being rolled out without adequate consultation with workers’ representatives and civil society groups.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was repealed in December 2025 and replaced with the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), also known as VB-GRAMG. Centre has also notified that MGNREGA will formally cease from July 1, 2026.
MGNREGA, enacted in 2006, has been one of India’s most important rural employment programmes. The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, or NSM, is a national platform of workers’ organisations, trade unions, activists and civil society groups working on MGNREGA and rural livelihoods.
NSM said the government should hold a fair and transparent consultation with workers’ organisations and civil society before framing and implementing the rules under the new Act.
NSM objected to the way the new law was introduced and is being rolled out. The group alleged that the Bill was rushed through both Houses of Parliament without meaningful discussion or dialogue with NREGA workers and civil society members.
It said the same pattern had continued in the public consultation process for the draft rules under the GRAMG Act. The draft rules were released on May 23, 2026 and the deadline for feedback was set for June 21, NSM said.
However, the Union Ministry of Rural Development has already announced that GRAMG will be implemented from 1 July, the group claimed. “The consultation is plainly a farce; the Ministry has no intention of meaningfully engaging with public recommendations,” NSM said in its statement.
The group said there was recent precedent for more detailed consultations, citing stakeholder meetings and a longer comment period held by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
By contrast, the VB-GRAMG draft rules were formulated opaquely and stakeholders were given little time to review and respond, NSM alleged.
Describing MGNREGA as a “people’s Act” born out of years of workers’ struggles and grassroots mobilisation, the group alleged that replacing it with what it called an opaque and undemocratic law would undermine workers’ rights.
“Its replacement with an opaque, arbitrary, and undemocratic statute constitutes a direct assault on worker rights. The draft rules make abundantly clear what unions have asserted for years: that the Modi Government has no concern for workers' interests,” the group said.
The group said the draft rules retained features of MGNREGA that workers had protested against for more than five years. These included what NSM described as the coercive use of technology and very low wage rates.
“The rules make abundantly clear what unions have asserted for years: that the Modi Government has no concern for workers’ interests,” NSM alleged.
The group demanded that the draft rules be revised through genuine engagement with stakeholders. Long-standing concerns around technology-based systems and wage rates must be addressed before implementation, it said.
NSM also disputed the Union Ministry of Rural Development’s assurance that MGNREGA would continue to function until VB-GRAMG comes into force. The situation on the ground is different, and local officials are not accepting work demand applications or opening worksites, NSM claimed.
More than Rs 3,200 crore in wage payments from the 2025-26 financial year remain pending, the group alleged.
NSM cited government data to claim that NREGA employment between April 2025 and April 2026 was 57 per cent lower, with a 49 per cent decline in May. Facial-recognition-related problems are also disrupting attendance and causing exclusions, the group said.
NSM warned that proceeding without a legitimate consultation process would cause chaos and further harm workers and their families. The government would be accountable for the consequences of hasty implementation, the group said.