New Delhi, Oct 6 (IANS): The Ministry of Rural Development has notified 375 permissible categories of works under the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G.
The notification, issued on October 5, provides for works covering water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, as well as special works aimed at mitigating extreme weather events and strengthening disaster preparedness in rural areas.
“The new Schedule represents a 41 per cent expansion over the 266 works under the previous framework,” the Ministry of Rural Development said in a statement.
Of the 375 permissible works, the largest category relates to water security, which includes 128 works. This is followed by 111 works under core rural infrastructure, 98 works related to livelihood infrastructure and 38 special works focused on extreme weather events and disaster preparedness.
The water security category includes construction, repair and maintenance of canals, flood and diversion channels, check dams, gully plugs and underground dykes.
The notified schedule also covers the rejuvenation of ponds and traditional water bodies, construction of percolation tanks, recharge pits and shafts, injection wells and various water harvesting structures.
Ice stupas, or artificial glaciers, have also been included in the permissible works for water conservation and irrigation, providing for region-specific measures to improve water availability and support agricultural activities.
The schedule further allows works related to drip and sprinkler irrigation systems, field-level water distribution channels and reclamation of waterlogged land. Afforestation and plantation activities linked to soil and moisture conservation have also been included, covering bamboo, mangrove, coconut, rubber and agro-forestry plantations.
Under the core rural infrastructure category, the notified works include construction and maintenance of rural roads, culverts, footpaths and other facilities aimed at improving village connectivity and access.
The category also includes construction and improvement of gram panchayat buildings, anganwadi centres, rural libraries, health centres and veterinary centres, thereby covering a broad range of basic public infrastructure required in rural communities.
School-related infrastructure has also been brought within the scope of permissible works. These include construction of additional classrooms, laboratories, toilets, kitchen sheds, compound walls and playgrounds, among other facilities required for improving educational infrastructure in villages.
Waste management and renewable energy infrastructure constitute another component of the notified schedule. The permissible works include recycling plants, waste segregation sheds, compost pits, greywater treatment units, solar street lighting systems and biogas plants.
The framework also provides for the development of rural parks, bus stands, parking sheds, drinking water kiosks, seed banks and multipurpose youth centres. Emergency evacuation and relief shelters in border areas have also been included among the permissible works.
The schedule specifically allows the construction of stairs and ramps for persons with disabilities in government buildings, rural housing works permitted under Central and state government schemes, including the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-Gramin).
The livelihood-related infrastructure category, which comprises 98 permissible works, includes training and skill development centres aimed at enhancing employment and income-generation opportunities in rural areas.
The category also provides for worksheds for self-help groups (SHGs), rural haats and market yards, food grain and agricultural produce storage facilities, as well as cold storage units to support rural producers and improve post-harvest infrastructure.
Other permissible works under this category include construction of SHG and federation buildings, compost structures, dairy and livestock infrastructure, fisheries-related facilities, nurseries and poly-houses. Horticulture and medicinal plantations and various processing units have also been included.
The schedule provides for shelters and infrastructure for cattle, goats, pigs and poultry, along with fish drying yards and aquaculture structures for shrimp, fish, crab and pearl farming.
It also includes poly-houses, nurseries and plantations linked to tea, coffee, horticulture, sericulture and medicinal trees, allowing rural employment works to support a wider range of agricultural and allied livelihood activities.
Processing infrastructure covered under the schedule includes mini flour mills, cashew processing units and oilseed processing facilities. It also includes integrated agro-processing infrastructure for cleaning, grading and packaging, along with forest produce and handloom processing units.
Bamboo craft and biodegradable product processing units have also been included, widening the scope of livelihood-oriented infrastructure that can be created through the rural employment framework.
For the first time, the schedule contains a separate category comprising 38 works specifically aimed at mitigating extreme weather events and strengthening disaster preparedness in rural areas.
This category includes cyclone and flood shelters, embankments, spurs, flood protection walls and retaining walls. It also covers stabilisation ponds and post-disaster restoration of rural roads and community assets to support recovery following extreme weather events.
The framework further provides for windbreak and shelterbelt plantations as protective measures. Forest-fire management works have also been included, such as firebreaks, forest fire lines, fuel buffer zones and animal protection trenches.
“The new framework seeks to move beyond a conventional list of asset types and align wage employment with the creation of durable rural assets and measurable development outcomes,” the ministry said.
The ministry also said that the identification and approval of works would follow a decentralised planning process, with local communities playing a central role in determining priorities and requirements.
