PATNA, Aug. 7 -- The rural development department (RDD) has identified 20 main projects to be taken up on priority under new VB-G RAM G (Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act related to rural employment job guarantee scheme till the end of this fiscal year, officials have said. Works under the new scheme would get intensified in all gram panchayats across the state from August 10 onwards following the mandated lean period coming to an end in various districts with gram panchayats approving the plans for work allotments to job card holders. People familiar with the matter said that a directive in this regard has been sent to all district magistrates recently by the RDD in which the works to be given priority has been enlisted. The VB- G RAM G scheme, replacing MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), came into effect from July 1 this year across India. The priority works to be taken up after the gram panchayats approve the plans include construction of separate toilets for boys and girls, including accessible toilets for persons with disabilities, ramps and other accessibility features in government schools, kitchen sheds and playgrounds for government schools, as well as construction, repair and maintenance of additional classrooms. Other projects include construction of marriage or community halls at the panchayat level and rural libraries. Officials said there would be also projects related to infrastructure and asset building under the VB- G RAM G scheme on a priority like construction of cement concrete road, construction of compound wall for government school, construction of rural haat bazaar and plantation along with barbed -wire fencing at the traditional and proposed crematorium for community in the gram panchayat. Projects related to irrigation and canal strengthening too would be taken up, officials said. " The department has identified 20 main projects under which plans would be made for works to be allotted to job card holders covered under the VB- G RAM G from July to March next year . There are over 300 developmental projects permissible under the new scheme but 20 have been identified for being taken up on priority to strengthen infrastructure in rural areas including irrigation, schools buildings and roads," said a senior official of RDD, engaged in implementation of the rural job scheme. In this FY 2026-27, Rs.11,200 crore has been allocated for the VB- G RAM G scheme for next nine months of which around Rs. 6,600 crore would be given by the centre while rest amount would be given by the state government under the new cost sharing model of running the scheme in 60:40 ratio. In Bihar , there are total 87 lakh active job card holders out of total 2.29 crore job card holders. Officials said the works would get momentum under the scheme from August 10 onwards in all 38 districts as the mandated lean period in various districts would come to an end in next few days. Under the new scheme, there is a provision to have lean period when work is not taken up under the scheme during the sowing and harvesting season so that there is no shortage of labourer during the peak farm activity season both in kharif and rabi crop cycle period. "As the lean period in most of the districts would end in next few days, work in various development works under VB- G RAM G would intensify from August 10 onwards in all 38 districts," said another RDD official. VB- G RAM G commissioner, Bihar Ananya Singh, could not be reached for comments....