UPSC Mains
GS Paper II & III
Welfare Schemes & Tribal Rights
Extra 50 Days of Work for FRA Title Holders under VB-G RAM G
The Rural Development Ministry has said in an RTI reply that no order has been issued on extra wage employment for FRA title holders under the new VB-G RAM G Act
VB-G RAM G BASE GUARANTEE
125 days
MGNREGA FRA ENTITLEMENT
150 days (100 + 50)
ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS WHO USED EXTRA DAYS, 2025-26
About 15%
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Why in News
- The Rural Development Ministry has said in an RTI reply that no order has been issued on extra wage employment for Forest Rights Act (FRA) title holders under the new VB-G RAM G Act, which was rolled out on 1 July.
- Under MGNREGA, these households got 50 extra days of work over the 100-day guarantee. It is now unclear whether they will get only 125 days or 175 days.
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Source: The Hindu
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What did FRA title holders get under MGNREGA?
MGNREGA gave Adivasi households with FRA titles a higher work guarantee.
- Entitlement: They were entitled to 150 days of work a year, which is the base 100 days plus 50 extra days.
- Timeline: The extra 50 days began in January 2014. A similar 50 extra days had first been introduced for drought-prone areas in 2012.
- Slow start: Even then, it took at least two years of government discussion to approve the extra days.
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Source: The Hindu
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What does the VB-G RAM G Act say?
The new law raises the base guarantee but has no separate tier for FRA holders.
- Base guarantee: The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, guarantees 125 days of wage work per rural household in a year.
- Section 5(4): The Centre or a State may give work beyond the guaranteed days, within its economic capacity. This is discretionary and names no group.
- Section 7: The Centre can allow relaxations during natural calamities, including more days of work, on a State’s recommendation.
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Source: The Hindu
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Why does the missing notification matter?
Without a notification, the extra days are not a legal right.
- Open question: Households do not know if they will get 125 days like others or 175 days with the extra 50.
- Government’s position: Ministry sources say a notification approving the extra 50 days will be issued shortly. They say households can use the extra days after finishing 125 days, as six months remain in the financial year.
- Weak track record: In 2025-26, only about 15% of the 14 lakh households eligible for 150 days under MGNREGA used the extra days.
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Source: The Hindu
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How patchy was the extra work in the States?
Very few registered households actually used the extra days.
- Odisha: It had the most registered households, 3.72 lakh, but only 71,696 used the extra days.
- Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh: Only about 37,000 and 29,000 households used them, out of 3.21 lakh and 2.22 lakh registered.
- Maharashtra: Just 8,063 of 96,559 registered households used them.
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Source: The Hindu
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Way Forward
Issue the Notification
Issue the notification quickly and give the extra 50 days a clear legal basis.
Automatic Entitlement
Make the entitlement automatic for FRA title holders, not dependent on State discretion.
Awareness
Spread awareness among tribal households and Gram Sabhas about the extra days.
State-wise Data
Track the days actually worked in State-wise data and publish it.
Link Records
Link FRA title records with job-card systems so households are not left out.
Conclusion: The new law raises the base work guarantee but leaves the extra days for forest-dwelling households unclear. A clear order is needed so that this entitlement does not end up as a promise on paper.
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Source: The Hindu
