The Chief Minister's Office of Chhattisgarh announced on Wednesday, 24 June 2026 that the Vishnu Dev Sai cabinet has approved the draft framework of the VB-G Ram Ji Yojana Chhattisgarh, a state-sponsored rural employment scheme guaranteeing 125 days of wage work to eligible rural households across the state.

The post, shared by the official CMO handle, states: 'विष्णुदेव सरकार द्वारा कैबिनेट बैठक में वीबी-जी राम जी योजना छत्तीसगढ़ के प्रारूप का अनुमोदन किया गया' — ('The Vishnu Dev government approved the draft of the VB-G Ram Ji Yojana Chhattisgarh in a cabinet meeting'). The scheme carries a budget provision of ₹4,000 crore and is designed to reinforce water conservation, rural development, and livelihood creation, with the stated goal of making villages self-reliant and prosperous.

Context

Chhattisgarh is a central Indian state with a predominantly rural and tribal population that depends heavily on agriculture, forests, and seasonal labour. Seasonal unemployment in rural belts has long been a structural challenge, with many households relying on central employment guarantee programmes to bridge lean agricultural months. The new scheme directly addresses this gap by extending the employment guarantee beyond the national floor.

Policy Backdrop

India's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), enacted in 2005, provides up to 100 days of guaranteed wage employment per year to rural households. The VB-G Ram Ji Yojana proposes to top this up to 125 days, adding 25 additional days of state-funded employment — a model several Indian states have explored to address demand that outpaces MGNREGA's central allocation. The scheme's focus on water conservation works also aligns with a broader national push under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative since 2020, which promotes village-level self-reliance through natural resource management and local infrastructure creation.

Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai, who was sworn in December 2023 after leading the BJP to victory in the state assembly elections, has positioned rural welfare and good governance as central planks of his administration. The cabinet approval of this scheme's draft framework marks a significant policy move in that direction.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are eligible rural households in Chhattisgarh — particularly agricultural labourers and marginal farmers who face income gaps between cropping seasons. Water conservation works planned under the scheme are expected to generate community assets such as check dams, ponds, and watershed structures that benefit farming communities beyond the employment period itself. With a ₹4,000 crore budget provision, the scheme represents one of the larger state-level rural livelihood investments in recent years for Chhattisgarh.

Rural development agencies, gram panchayats, and self-help groups are likely to serve as implementation channels, though formal operational guidelines are yet to be published. The scheme's integration mechanism with the existing MGNREGA framework will be a key detail to watch as the programme moves from cabinet approval to rollout.

What's Next

The cabinet has approved only the draft framework at this stage; detailed scheme guidelines, beneficiary registration processes, and fund-release timelines are expected to follow in the coming months. Employment generation data and fund utilisation will be closely tracked by the state assembly's rural development committees and by civil society organisations working in Chhattisgarh's tribal and agrarian belts. If implemented at scale, the VB-G Ram Ji Yojana could set a precedent for other BJP-governed states considering supplementary rural employment guarantees above the MGNREGA baseline.