Hyderabad: Union minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy on Thursday urged the Telangana govt to complete pending formalities for the rollout of the Centre’s new Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar Scheme (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G), which is scheduled to be launched nationwide from July 1.Following a meeting with Union Rural Development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in New Delhi, Kishan said the state govt was yet to issue the required notification and earmark its share of funds for the implementation of the scheme.The new programme replaces the existing MGNREGS framework by increasing the guaranteed employment period from 100 days to 125 days a year, with the Centre stating that it is aimed at providing greater livelihood security to rural households.According to Chouhan, the Centre approved 8.5 crore person-days of employment for Telangana during 2026–27. As of June 9, around 4.38 crore person-days had already been generated, 11,684 works had been completed, and ₹1,163.6 crore had been spent under the ongoing programme.The Union minister also said Telangana had been allocated ₹3,825.3 crore for the implementation of the new scheme during the current financial year.Highlighting the features of the programme, Kishan said workers would be issued new rural employment guarantee cards, wages would be paid within seven days, and delayed payments beyond 15 days would attract 0.5% interest. The scheme also provides for an unemployment allowance if work is not provided within the stipulated period, and a toll-free grievance redressal mechanism for workers.He said face-recognition attendance and e-KYC would be made mandatory to improve transparency and prevent irregularities. In addition, employment scheme work would be paused for up to 60 days during peak agricultural seasons to ensure the availability of labour for farming activities.The Union minister said the scheme would be funded in a 60:40 ratio by the Centre and the state govt, and added that central and state officials were in regular consultation to ensure a smooth rollout from July 1. He appealed to the Telangana govt to complete its responsibilities on time and work in coordination with the Centre for effective implementation of the programme.
