Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has written a formal letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding critical structural changes to the Centre’s newly launched rural employment initiative, the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G).
The Chief Minister warned that the current design of the scheme—which replaces the long-running Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)—threatens to impose an unsustainable financial burden of over ₹5,000 crore on Tamil Nadu’s state exchequer.
Core Demands: Funding Splits and Administrative Autonomy
Chief Minister Vijay highlighted that abrupt structural shifts from the two-decade-old MGNREGS model could severely hamper ground-level execution, directly impacting vulnerable rural populations.
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Reverting the Funding Pattern: The primary grievance centers on the new 60:40 Centre-State funding ratio. Vijay has demanded that the Centre continue providing 100% funding for wage and administrative components, while capping the state’s contribution to material costs at 25%.
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Opposing “Micromanagement”: The letter strongly opposes the Centre’s proposed uniform fund allocation formula for village panchayats, calling it a form of centralized micromanagement that ignores regional socio-economic diversity. He requested that states retain the freedom to design allocation methodologies based on local demands.
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Dynamic Seasonal Adjustments: Instead of the Centre’s mandatory, pre-fixed 60-day peak agricultural season timeline, Vijay proposed allowing District Collectors to dynamically notify these periods based on local farming cycles.
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Restoring the Legacy Name: In tandem with policy revisions, the Chief Minister urged the Centre to reinstate Mahatma Gandhi’s name in the title of the national rural employment programme.
Opposition DMK Raises Red Flags on Fiscal Autonomy
While the Tamil Nadu government has moved forward with notifying the scheme’s implementation, the opposition DMK has issued strong warnings regarding its long-term financial consequences.
“Increasing the financial contribution of states is contrary to the principles of cooperative federalism. It places immense pressure on state development programmes and weakens fiscal autonomy.” — Thangam Thennarasu, Former Finance Minister
The DMK has called on the TVK-led state government to vehemently resist any provisions within the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, that could compromise Tamil Nadu’s financial interests and state rights.
