The Supreme Court on Friday (August 21, 2026) praised the repealed Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), calling it a “salutary scheme” that was neither a freebie nor an exploitation of rural workers.
“MGNREGA was a good, effective scheme. It did a wonderful job in rural areas and was implemented pan-India. It was neither a freebie nor exploitation,” Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, heading a three-judge Bench, orally observed. The Bench was hearing a petition filed by activist Aruna Roy seeking directions for the government to pay delayed wages under the MGNREGA, along with compensation. Advocates Prashant Bhushan, Cheryl D’Souza and Neha Rathi, appearing for Ms. Roy, urged the court to examine whether a law could prescribe minimum wages lower than the threshold determined by the State concerned. The court asked him to file a new petition while disposing of the current one.
The court’s accolade came amid claims by civil rights groups that MGNREGA’s successor, the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) or the VB-G RAM G Act, has seen a 50% decline in employment generation, despite an increase in guaranteed work days from 100 to 125 per household annually.
