The rural infrastructure and employment landscape of Chhattisgarh has received a monumental boost following a high-level review meeting chaired via video conferencing today by the Union Minister for Rural Development, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Under the central government’s new flagship initiative, the "Viksit Bharat Rozgar aur Ajeevika Guarantee Mission" (VB-GRAMG ), which transitions from the existing framework on July 1, 2026, an interim allocation of ₹3,354.85 crore has been officially designated for Chhattisgarh. This financial injection will flow directly to the state's Gram Panchayats, empowering grassroot-level decision-making, reinforcing local employment guarantees, and accelerating community development works.

Addressing the assembly of state ministers, Union Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan emphasized that this policy shift is not merely an administrative renaming but is fundamentally linked to the survival and dignity of millions of rural workers. The Minister issued unequivocal directives to ensure that "no worker is left without employment for even a single day," stating that any disruptions in the registration of work, timely wage disbursal, or statutory labor rights will not be tolerated. He revealed that the Central Government had previously allocated ₹30,000 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), which is now supplemented by today’s newly released interim allocation of ₹95,692.31 crore for states and Union Territories, bringing the cumulative operational fund to well over ₹1.25 lakh crore.

This massive financial corpus will extend to approximately 2.80 lakh Gram Panchayats across India, guaranteeing that each local body secures lakhs of rupees in direct funding. Minister Shri Chouhan underlined that these resources must be strictly deployed for pre-approved developmental assets in alignment with legal statutory guidelines, thereby simultaneously creating local job opportunities and creating durable public wealth, such as water conservation structures, in rural belts. The Center is actively moving beyond just providing capital; it is ensuring structural monitoring mechanisms to verify that wage transfers are direct, prompt, and unhindered. States have been urged to accord advance approvals for public works so that deployment hits full scale starting July 1.

Reviewing administrative and digital preparedness, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan commended the remarkable progress made by states in implementing robust digital backbones, including Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), SMS-based info-alerts, exhaustive e-KYC, and Face Authentication modules. To date, 26 states have successfully institutionalized their requisite budgetary matching provisions to align with the "Viksit Bharat - Gramin Bharat" paradigm. The Minister urgently requested lagging states—specifically Jharkhand, Karnataka, Telangana, and Mizoram—to expedite their fiscal processes immediately, adding that he would personally write to their respective Chief Ministers to ensure compliance.

To formalize the transition smoothly, the Union Minister instructed all remaining states to issue their state-level notifications immediately, praising Mizoram, Puducherry, and Andhra Pradesh for leading the way. States must also officially notify peak agricultural seasons to balance local farm labor demands, complete 100% e-KYC tracking, and execute intensive block-level capacity building workshops. Under the revamped 'G RAM G' blueprint, project selection power rests solely with the Gram Panchayats and Gram Sabhas, ensuring development is tailored to regional demands. To review ongoing ground preparations, Minister Shri Chouhan extended a formal invitation to all states for the National Rural Development Conference, scheduled to take place on June 28 and 29 at the Pusa Institute in New Delhi. Expressing absolute confidence in the team, the Minister concluded that under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, this historic mission will effectively remodel rural India, ensuring sustainable employment and prosperous livelihoods for crores of workers.

The state-wise allocations announced during the meeting are as follows: Andhra Pradesh ₹7,707.21 crore, Arunachal Pradesh ₹560.70 crore, Assam ₹1,929.24 crore, Bihar ₹6,715.83 crore, Goa ₹3.70 crore, Gujarat ₹1,540.54 crore, Haryana ₹590.23 crore, Himachal Pradesh ₹1,201.78 crore, Jharkhand ₹2,705.64 crore, Karnataka ₹5,709.09 crore, Kerala ₹3,136.44 crore, Madhya Pradesh ₹6,252.03 crore, Maharashtra ₹4,420.32 crore, Manipur ₹581.99 crore, Meghalaya ₹1,155.09 crore, Mizoram ₹611.65 crore, Nagaland ₹287.85 crore, Odisha ₹3,763.80 crore, and Punjab ₹1,331.61 crore.

Similarly, an outlay of ₹7,581.87 crore has been kept for Rajasthan, ₹97.57 crore for Sikkim, ₹7,957.57 crore for Tamil Nadu, ₹4,229.74 crore for Telangana, ₹1,041.07 crore for Tripura, ₹12,221.48 crore for Uttar Pradesh, ₹626.43 crore for Uttarakhand, and ₹8,508.00 crore for West Bengal, bringing the total allocation for states to ₹92,550.17 crore. Among Union Territories, Puducherry has been allocated ₹40.56 crore, Jammu & Kashmir ₹1,151.02 crore, Andaman & Nicobar Islands ₹4.44 crore, Ladakh ₹85.98 crore, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu ₹9.02 crore, and Lakshadweep ₹0.32 crore, totaling ₹1,291.32 crore for UTs. In addition to these provisions, ₹1,850.62 crore has been set aside for central administration and social audit, taking the total interim allocation to ₹95,692.31 crore, which will accelerate regional growth across the country.

Union Minister Shri Chouhan stated that this initiative is not just a plan, but a vital medium to build "Viksit Gram" (Developed Villages) towards the goal of "Viksit Bharat". Its success will depend on the commitment, preparedness, and active participation of the states. Shri Shivraj Singh expressed confidence that with the cooperation of all states under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, this initiative will play a transformative role in rural India and provide permanent employment and a better life to millions of workers.
 

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RDJ/PJ

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