Replacing MGNREGA is ‘historic mistake’: Sachin Pilot

Addressing reporters, the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister accused the BJP-led government of dismantling the only financial safety net rural India had, without consultation or consensus. “For the first time since Independence, a programme named after the Father of the Nation has been erased,” Pilot said, alleging that the government had “single-handedly destroyed” MGNREGA and replaced it with a centralised scheme that strips power from local communities.

Pilot claimed the repeal of MGNREGA was pushed through Parliament by sheer force of numbers, bypassing meaningful debate with state governments, stakeholders and civil society. “Parliament was reduced to a display of brute majority,” he said, adding that the new legislation marks a departure from the demand-driven framework that once empowered gram sabhas to decide local development priorities.

Under the new law — the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025 — the Centre will determine the nature and timing of works, a move Pilot described as “over-centralisation at the cost of rural livelihoods.” The Bill was passed amid strong opposition protests and received presidential assent on December 21, formally replacing the MGNREGA enacted during the UPA government led by former prime minister Manmohan Singh.