Today, I feel genuinely uplifted by what the Union Budget 2026 has done for people like my own family, neighbors, and countless others across Bharat.When I read about the ₹95,692 crore poured into the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), new VB-G RAM G—I couldn’t help but smile.
This isn’t just another budget line item to me; it feels like someone in Delhi finally heard the real conversations that happen under banyan trees and on mud paths after a long day in the fields.
For the first time in years, I see a scheme that doesn’t treat us like we’re only asking for survival money. Yes, they’ve increased the guarantee to 125 days of work per household—and that extra 25 days will mean my friend can pay for his daughter’s school fees without selling the last pig, or that my uncle won’t have to leave the village every monsoon season looking for labor in the Imphal.
That alone brings a deep sense of relief to so many homes.But what truly excites me is how they’ve changed the purpose of those days. No more just digging pits that fill with rain and disappear.
Growing up in a place where fields, hills, and valleys shape daily life, I’ve seen families depend on those 100 days of guaranteed work under MGNREGA to survive lean seasons, pay for children’s education, or avoid migrating to distant cities.
Yet, over the years, what was meant to be a lifeline turned into a source of frustration, betrayal, and lost trust due to endless scams and scandals that plagued its implementation here.
Under the old MGNREGA system in Manipur, corruption wasn’t just occasional, it became systemic in too many gram panchayats and blocks. Fake job cards were rampant. Names of people who never existed, or who had long passed away, kept appearing on muster rolls, while genuine people were excluded.
Ghost workers drew wages without ever showing up for a day of labor. Funds meant for digging ponds, building roads, or creating check dams vanished through inflated material costs, forged bills, or works listed as “completed” that never materialized on the ground.
In one well-known case from around 2021 in Konthoujam Gram Panchayat, the pradhan and others were arrested by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Cell for alleged irregularities—criminal conspiracy charges stemmed from manipulated records and misappropriated funds.
Such incidents weren’t isolated; they echoed across valleys and hills.Government data paints a sobering picture. As of early 2025, Manipur had received allocations around ₹1,250.90 crore under MGNREGA in recent years, but reports highlighted ₹6.10 crore in misused funds, with only about ₹0.72 crore (a mere 11.80%) recovered.
That low recovery rate meant most of the siphoned money stayed lost, while genuine laborers waited months, even years for delayed wages. Protests erupted repeatedly: in 2022, panchayat members from hill districts threatened to join valley agitations if pending wages weren’t released, pointing to how central funds were diverted or held up, spoiling the scheme’s intent.
Delays often stemmed from overdrafts or misuse in other sectors, as admitted by state leaders at the time. These weren’t abstract numbers, they translated to real hardship: families skipping meals, children dropping out of school, or young people leaving for menial jobs elsewhere because the promised safety net had holes punched through by greed.
Nationally, MGNREGA faced similar criticisms, Finance Ministers in the past called it “infested with ghost accounts” and a “source of corruption,” with lakhs of fake job cards deleted over time.
In Manipur, our unique challenges, geographical isolation, ethnic tensions, and administrative bottlenecks amplified these issues. Middlemen colluded with officials; social audits, though mandated, were often superficial or ignored. The result?
Trust eroded. People like my relatives, who worked honestly under the sun, saw others get paid for nothing, while their own payments came late or short. It felt like the scheme rewarded the connected, not the needy.
Now the focus is on building things that last, check dams that hold water through summer, farm ponds that let us grow a second crop, all-weather roads so the auto rickshaws which transport vegetables doesn’t get stuck, and climate-resilient structures that protect our fields from erratic rains.
I can already picture the gram sabha meetings where we’ll decide together what our village truly needs, and then watch those plans turn into real assets under the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans. That feels like real power coming back to us.The transparency measures give me hope too.
Biometric payments, real-time tracking, stronger social audits, I’ve seen too many wage delays and “paper” works in the past. If they deliver on this, the money will actually reach the hands that did the work.
For women like my mother in law and aunts, who form such a large part of the workforce in these schemes, timely wages mean dignity, savings, and a louder voice at home.This budget tells me the government sees rural India not as a burden or a vote bank, but as the very foundation of Viksit Bharat @2047.
I know implementation will be the real test. But today, I feel optimistic in a way I haven’t for a long time. This move gives crores of us breathing room, purpose, and a real shot at building a better tomorrow for our children, right here in the villages where our roots are deepest.
These aren’t vague promises; they’re statutory requirements under the new Act, described in official reviews as a “decisive reset” fixing structural weaknesses with transparency as the core. Union leaders have emphasized “no scope for even ₹1 of corruption,” and the tech-driven framework supports that claim.
Compared to MGNREGA’s manual processes that invited forgery, this feels built to withstand Manipur’s realities—where vigilance has sometimes been weak due to distance and capacity issues.
Of course, I remain realistic. Implementation in our state, with its ethnic complexities, occasional disruptions, and administrative hurdles will demand constant watchfulness from gram sabhas, civil society, and vigilant citizens.
The transitional ₹30,000 crore for clearing old MGNREGA liabilities shows care in the shift, but we need to ensure the full ₹95,692 crore flows effectively without old habits creeping back.
Still, from someone who’s lived the pain of MGNREGA’s scandals, watching honest work go unpaid while corrupt pockets filled I see VB-G RAM G as a genuine second chance. It restores dignity to labor with timely wages for real work, assets that endure, income security that lasts. Families won’t just survive; they’ll build, stronger homes, better fields, resilient communities.
Naorem Mohen is the Editor of Signpost News. Explore his views and opinion on X: @laimacha.
Naorem Mohen
View More PostsNaorem Mohen is the Editor of Signpost News. Explore his views and opinion on X: @laimacha.
