Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking significant changes to the implementation of the newly launched Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-GRAMG) scheme, warning that its current funding structure would impose an additional financial burden of more than Rs 5,000 crore on the state.
In a detailed letter, Vijay urged the Centre to revisit the scheme’s funding pattern and operational guidelines before its implementation, arguing that several provisions could adversely affect rural employment and the state’s welfare programmes.
“I am writing regarding the implementation of the Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB-GRAMG] Scheme. This scheme imposes an additional financial burden of over Rs. 5000 crore under the new sharing pattern and restrictive operational implications on the State Government,” Vijay wrote.
He further cautioned that unless the Centre modified certain provisions of the VB-GRAMG Act, 2025, “the seamless and effective execution of this scheme on the ground would suffer significantly and will affect the rural population which is dependent on the rural employment programme.”
SEEKS REVISED FUNDING FORMULA
A key demand in Vijay’s letter is the restoration of a more favourable Centre-State funding pattern.
The Chief Minister raised concerns over the new 60:40 funding ratio across wage, material and administrative components, arguing that it marked a sharp departure from the structure followed under the MGNREGS for nearly two decades.
“As MGNREGS operated under a different structure for two decades, this abrupt shift places an unsustainable strain on the State exchequer, which may reduce available wage employment days or crowd out other essential welfare schemes,” the letter states.
Vijay requested the Centre to retain 100 per cent Central funding for wage and administrative expenses while adopting a 75:25 Centre-State sharing pattern for material costs.
“I therefore request that 100% funding be maintained for the Wage and Administrative components, with the Material component shared on a 75:25 basis between the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu,” he wrote.
OPPOSES CENTRALISED ALLOCATION MODEL
The Chief Minister also criticised the proposed centralised methodology for allocating funds among village panchayats, saying it ignored regional socio-economic differences.
“The proposed centralised methodology… introduces micromanagement. A uniform, formulaic national approach fails to account for regional socio-economic diversity and risks lopsided grassroots allocations,” Vijay wrote.
He urged the Centre to allow states to formulate their own methodology for distributing funds among village panchayats based on local socio-economic conditions instead of following a uniform national model.
CALLS FOR GREATER FLEXIBILITY
Vijay also sought greater flexibility in notifying peak agricultural seasons, saying the existing provision requiring a pre-declared 60-day suspension period for employment works was impractical given changing climatic conditions.
“Instead of advance notification, authority should be decentralised to District Collectors to notify the 60-day peak period dynamically as per local conditions,” the Chief Minister said.
He further urged the Centre to extend the scheme’s convergence provisions to Tamil Nadu’s state-funded housing schemes, arguing that limiting the benefit to Union housing programmes would slow the state’s “Housing for All” initiative.
Vijay also requested that states be empowered to approve convergence with local schemes without requiring individual notifications from the Union government, saying the existing process would create avoidable administrative bottlenecks.
SEEKS TO RETAIN MAHATMA GANDHI’S NAME
In the concluding part of his letter, Vijay appealed to the Centre to continue the rural employment programme under Mahatma Gandhi’s name, saying the title carries immense historical significance and public goodwill.
“Finally, it is requested to continue the scheme in the name of Mahatma Gandhi to honour his legacy and to foster public goodwill aligned with the core ethos of the scheme,” the Chief Minister wrote.
Vijay said Tamil Nadu has consistently been among the leading states in implementing rural employment guarantee programmes and expressed hope that the Centre would favourably consider the proposed changes to ensure the scheme delivers maximum benefits to rural communities while protecting the state’s finances.
– Ends
Published By:
Akash Chatterjee
Published On:
Jul 1, 2026 23:26 IST
