Jaipur, July 3 -- Rajasthan chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Thursday said the newly launched Viksit Bharat Rozgar Evam Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) Guarantee Yojana (VB-G RAM G) will replace MGNREGA with a more transparent rural employment framework, guaranteeing 125 days of work annually instead of 100, along with timely wage payments and a focus on creating durable rural assets. The chief minister launched the state-level implementation of the scheme from Masuda Agricultural Produce Market Yard in Beawar district. Sharma said Rajasthan has earmarked Rs.12,636 crore for the scheme in 2026-27, the highest allocation for a rural employment guarantee programme in the state. The chief minister mounted a sharp attack on MGNREGA, claiming that despite being introduced to guarantee employment in rural areas, it had failed to fully achieve its objectives. He alleged that the programme often resulted in temporary roads, incomplete water structures and unplanned excavation work that offered little long-term benefit. He further alleged that weak monitoring mechanisms under the previous scheme led to fake and duplicate job cards, bogus beneficiaries, inflated attendance registers and irregular wage payments, while social audits remained largely a formality. Highlighting the key reforms under VB-G RAM G, Sharma said the annual legal employment guarantee has been increased to 125 days. To prevent labour shortages during sowing and harvesting seasons, state government will now be empowered to declare a 60-day work suspension period. He said the new programme would focus on permanent rural assets, including water conservation structures, village infrastructure, livelihood generation and disaster resilience works. The chief minister said transparency would be ensured through the use of geo-tagging, satellite imagery, mobile applications and artificial intelligence. Digital social audits will be mandatory every six months, backed by documentary evidence, while a multi-tier digital grievance redressal system with fixed timelines and district ombudsmen has also been introduced. In a major relief for workers, Sharma said wage payments under the scheme will now be mandatory every week. Any delay beyond two weeks will automatically trigger compensation without requiring workers to file claims. He said the ceiling on administrative expenditure has been increased from 6 per cent to 9 per cent, allowing states to deploy more field staff, technical experts, training resources and monitoring mechanisms for better implementation. The chief minister also said the scheme introduces a more sustainable financial model by replacing the earlier open-ended labour budget with a clearly defined annual allocation. While employment will continue to be demand-driven, the enhanced national allocation is expected to provide states with an additional Rs 17,000 crore over recent MGNREGA averages. Rejecting criticism surrounding the scheme, Sharma said attempts were being made to create confusion over VB-G RAM G, whereas it represented a model of cooperative federalism. He asserted that the "double-engine government" had committed Rs.12,636 crore for the scheme in Rajasthan during 2026-27, enabling the construction of durable assets such as roads, water conservation structures and other infrastructure genuinely needed in villages. He described the mission as a transformative initiative that would strengthen rural employment while laying the foundation for a developed India....