The farmers’ body demands a rollback of the VB-GRAM(G) Act, calls for greater decentralisation
NEW DELHI — The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a joint platform of farmers and workers organisations, on Sunday announced its support for the May 15 nationwide strike by NREGA workers, calling on all its constituent organisations to extend solidarity at worksites across the country.
The strike has been jointly called by the Joint Platform of Agricultural Workers’ Unions and the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha to press for the restoration and strengthening of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which workers’ groups say has been weakened by recent policy changes by the BJP-led government at the Centre.
The SKM demanded the rollback of the controversial VB-GRAM(G) Act and sought the reinstatement of an “enriched” MGNREGA framework guaranteeing 200 days of employment annually with a minimum wage of Rs 700 per day, indexed to inflation.
The farmers’ body also opposed what it described as “exclusionary technologies” in the implementation of the rural employment scheme, including digital payment systems and facial-recognition-based attendance mechanisms, alleging that such measures have led to large-scale exclusion of workers from accessing employment and wages.
Calling for greater decentralisation, SKM said Gram Sabhas should be empowered as key stakeholders in planning and implementing MGNREGA works at the village level.
Criticising the Union Government, the organisation alleged that the VB-GRAM(G) Act had diluted the “right to work” guaranteed under the original MGNREGA legislation by linking employment availability to financial allocations rather than statutory entitlement.
“The government is projecting the new law as an improvement over MGNREGA, but in reality it restricts employment opportunities and deepens rural unemployment,” the statement said. It warned that reduced employment guarantees would push the rural poor into greater economic vulnerability and dependence on large landowners.
SKM further demanded restoration of 90 per cent Union Government funding for the scheme and uninterrupted provision of work. It also argued that state-level employment guarantee laws, such as the Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) Act of 1977, should continue alongside the central legislation, citing a 2016 Bombay High Court judgment permitting the coexistence of similar state laws.
The organisation said the growing coordination among farmers, agricultural labourers and workers’ unions reflected an emerging nationwide movement against what it termed “anti-worker and anti-farmer policies.”
Besides seeking repeal of the VB-GRAM(G) Act 2025, SKM reiterated its long-standing demands, including a legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) based on the C2+50 per cent formula, comprehensive farm loan waivers, repeal of the four labour codes, and rejection of free trade agreements that it described as harmful to national interests.
