Centre evading responsibility with 60:40 formula for rural employment scheme: LDF

Delhi, Dec 17 ,2025: Convenor of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala, T P Ramakrishnan, has said that the proposed 60:40 funding formula in the rehashed MGNREGA rural employment and livelihood guarantee scheme of the union government is a clear attempt by the Centre to evade its responsibility.
He said many state governments are already under severe financial stress, and shifting a larger share of the burden onto the states would eventually undermine a visionary programme designed to provide guaranteed employment to people in rural India.
“The LDF has called for a dharna in front of Central government offices across different districts of Kerala on December 22 against the new Bill proposed to replace MGNREGA. Members of trade unions associated with the rural sector will participate in the protest,” Ramakrishnan said.
He noted that Kerala is among the states that have implemented the MGNREGA scheme effectively through local self-government institutions, and that the programme has significantly helped in reducing rural distress in the state.
While MGNREGA benefits are officially restricted to rural areas, the Kerala government extended similar benefits to urban areas by launching a state-specific scheme named Ayyankali, he said.
“The new 60:40 formula will financially stifle states like Kerala,” Ramakrishnan said in Delhi, alleging that there is already a huge backlog of MGNREGA funds pending clearance by the Centre.
Questioning the union government’s commitment to the scheme, he said allocations for MGNREGA have not been increased in recent union Budgets, nor have wages under the scheme been revised in the past few years.
“The agenda of the ruling BJP is evident from the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the scheme,” he alleged.
He urged the union government not to go ahead with the new ‘Viksit Bharat – G Ram G Bill’.