Centre notifies new grievance redressal rules for the VB-G RAM G rural employment scheme, requiring complaints to be resolved within 15 days.
States must establish grievance redressal mechanisms at Gram Panchayat, block and district levels, with enquiries completed within seven working days.
Complaints can be submitted orally, in writing, through helplines or digitally, and cannot be rejected over language, format or procedural deficiencies.
All complaints must be registered on a designated digital platform, allowing complainants to track their status and the action taken.
Grievances unresolved after 15 days must be escalated to the next higher authority for further action.
The central government on November 2, 2026 notified rules requiring states to establish a multi-level grievance redressal mechanism under the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G, with complaints to be resolved within 15 days of receipt.
The rules require state governments to establish mechanisms at the Gram Panchayat (village council), block and district levels to address complaints related to the implementation of the rural employment scheme.
They prescribe a deadline of seven working days for completing enquiries into complaints, while grievances remaining unresolved after 15 days must be escalated to the next higher administrative level.
The mechanism must be integrated with a digital public infrastructure designated by the Union government, allowing complaints to be registered, monitored and tracked until their disposal.
The District Programme Coordinator will oversee grievance redressal at the district level and ensure complaints are handled through the prescribed mechanism.
Under the rules, anyone can submit a complaint concerning the implementation of the scheme, either orally or in writing.
Complaints can be filed in person before a designated grievance redressal officer, through registered speed post with proof of delivery, on the designated digital platform, or by telephone and helplines. States may also provide additional channels.
Complaints submitted physically at the Gram Panchayat, block or district level must be registered on the digital platform on the day they are received or, where this is not feasible, by the next working day.
Grievance received in physical form at the Gram Panchayat, Block or District level shall be mandatorily entered and registered on the Digital Public Infrastructure for redressal of grievancesCentral government notification
Every complainant must receive an acknowledgement containing a registration number, the date of receipt and the designation of the receiving authority.
Acknowledgements must be issued electronically for complaints submitted digitally and in physical form for those submitted in person or on paper.
The rules prohibit officials from refusing to register complaints because of their format, language, manner of submission or procedural deficiencies.
The designated grievance redressal officer must examine every registered complaint and conduct the necessary enquiry.
The officer can seek relevant records, registers, documents, reports, electronic data and other information from the authorities concerned, who must provide them within the specified period.
Complainants must also be given a reasonable opportunity to be heard, either in person or electronically, wherever necessary for the proper disposal of their grievances.
Once the enquiry is completed, the officer must record the findings and take corrective or remedial action, or ensure that the relevant authority does so, in accordance with the Act and rules.
The findings and action taken must be recorded on the digital platform and communicated to the complainant. Where a complaint was submitted physically, the outcome must also be communicated in physical form.
The digital system must maintain a record of each complaint, from registration and enquiry to findings, corrective action and final disposal.
The rules require complaints that remain unresolved after 15 days to be automatically escalated through the digital platform.
“A grievance which remains unresolved within a period of fifteen days shall be escalated through the Digital Public Infrastructure for redressal of grievance to the next higher level,” the notification stated.
The higher authority must examine the escalated complaint and take appropriate action under the prescribed mechanism. Such complaints will continue to be monitored electronically until they are disposed of.
Appeals against decisions made under the grievance redressal mechanism will be handled in accordance with clauses (i), (j) and (k) of paragraph 28 of Schedule I to the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025.
The rules came into force on their publication in the Official Gazette on November 2.
The notification, issued by the Department of Rural Development, followed the publication of draft rules on May 22, 2026. The ministry said the central government had considered the objections and suggestions received before finalising the regulations.
The new framework establishes deadlines and digital tracking requirements for handling complaints, with state governments responsible for setting up and operating the grievance redressal mechanism.