People employed under MNREGS working in field in Khammam district. | Photo credit: File photo
HYDERABAD
The Telangana Legislative Assembly on Friday passed a resolution unopposed demanding that the Center implement the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act as is, withdrawing the recent law that replaced the MGNREGA – Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika (Gramin) Mission – VB G RAM G.
Moving the resolution, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said that 90% of the beneficiaries under the MRNREG scheme were from SC, ST and BC communities and 62% of them were women. The scheme provided on-demand wage labor as a matter of right since its launch in Bandameedipalle village of Anantapur district in the then united Andhra Pradesh in 2005. It also provided major relief to wage job seekers in Mahabubnagar and Medak districts. He said the new law tramples the right of poor people to wage work and is against their rights. It further dilutes the spirit of NREGS and opposes the provision of wage labor on demand and weighs against working women. Demanding restoration of the old system, the chief minister said the new law was also against the federal spirit in the matter of fund contributions as it mandates 40% funding by the state against 100% provision of the salary component by the center in the old law.
Seeking to restore Mahatma Gandhi’s name in the scheme, he said the 60-day break in the scheme during the peak agricultural season would be removed as it would lead to exploitation of wage seekers and continued in all 266 types of work.
Apart from those from the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), who boycotted the meeting, members of the ruling Congress, CPI, MIM and BJP spoke for a brief discussion on the issue. Deputy Chief Minister M. Bhatti Vikramarka and Rural Development Minister D. Seethakka criticized the new law, saying it was aimed at helping corporations get cheap labour.
Members of Congress, MIM and CPI — Ch. Vijayaramana Rao, M. Samuel, V. Bhojju, Y. Srinivas Reddy, Mir Zulfeqar Ali and K. Sambasiva Rao opposed the new law while BJP’s A. Mahesgwar Reddy supported the new law.
Published – 02 Jan 2026 10:00 PM IST
