Employment generated under the government’s new rural job guarantee scheme fell by nearly half in July, the first month since it replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, The Indian Express reported on Monday.

Only 7.6 crore person-days were generated under the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin Act, or VB-G RAM G, in July, as compared to 15.3 crore in the same month last year under MGNREGA, the newspaper cited official data.

A person-day refers to the amount of work done by one person in one working day. This means that a 20 person-day project can be completed by 20 people in one day, or one person in 20 days

The number of households that availed the rural employment guarantee scheme also fell by 51.4% to 68.9 lakh in July, compared with 1.4 crore under the old scheme in the same month last year.

The July figures for both households and person-days were the lowest in the last five years, reported The Indian Express.

The new scheme came into effect on July 1, replacing the two-decade-old MGNREGA.

It guarantees 125 days of wage employment to rural households in a financial year, compared with 100 days under the old scheme. It also allows states to pause the employment guarantee for up to 60 days during peak sowing and harvesting periods.

The Ministry of Rural Development told The Indian Express that the transition from the old scheme to the new one had been “smooth, seamless and technology-enabled”, with the administrative and digital systems operational from the start of the programme.

The VB-G Ram G Act received presidential assent on December 21, two days after it was passed by Parliament amid protests by Opposition parties.

The legislation has drawn criticism from economists and labour rights experts, who have said that it consolidates decision-making with the Union government, while transferring a greater financial burden onto the states.

Five Opposition-ruled states – Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Telangana and Jharkhand – have passed resolutions opposing the VB-G Ram G Act, and seeking that the MGNREGA scheme be restored.

Edited by Sneha.

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