The Punjab government on Wednesday said it had resolved the long-pending demands of the MGNREGA/VB-GRAM G Employees’ Union, paving the way for the implementation of the rural employment guarantee and development scheme in the state from July 30.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G) scheme officially replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) nationwide from July 1.
Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who chaired a meeting with representatives of the employees’ union on Tuesday, said issues relating to service conditions, contractual tenure, migration to the VB-G RAM G framework, remuneration and other administrative matters were taken up with all stakeholders and all genuine demands of the union were accepted.
“The decisions are expected to benefit nearly 2,000 employees across the state,” he said in a statement.
Principal secretary Ajit Balaji Joshi and joint development commissioner Shena Aggarwal were present in the meeting.
Separately, Cheema also met representatives of seven unions from the education department and two unions from the power department. He subsequently issued directions to the education and power departments to accelerate the review of service-related matters through the constituted committees and present concrete, actionable proposals for an expedited resolution.