10 years on contract, no regular jobs: Government chooses fresh recruitment for MGNREGS

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Contract employees working under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) will not be regularised, and fresh recruitment will be conducted, according to the government. Existing employees who meet the eligibility criteria will also be given an opportunity in the new recruitment process.

The decision means that around 5,000 contract employees who have been working for more than 10 years in gram panchayats, block panchayats and district panchayats will not be regularised. The government’s position comes against the backdrop of the employment guarantee scheme being renamed the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission–Gramin (VB-G RAM-G) with new conditions. An order issued by Local Self-Government Department Secretary Anupama T.V. also states that the requirement for employees will be reassessed.

The employees had demanded regularisation with retrospective effect and benefits including pension. They had cited the regularisation of contract employees in AHADS and DRDA in support of their demand. The Local Self-Government Department and the government have made it clear that permanent appointments cannot be made without sanctioned posts. The Finance Department had also rejected a proposal to regularise contract employees who had completed 10 years of service during the previous government’s tenure.

The employees had approached the High Court challenging the decision. On February 12, 2026, the High Court directed the authorities to hear their demands in person and take a decision within four months. The Deputy Secretary of the Local Self-Government Department conducted the hearing on August 1, following which the government issued the order announcing its decision.

No permanent posts have been created under the employment guarantee scheme. There is also no legal provision for regularising employees appointed on contract, according to the government.

Under the new Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission–Gramin (VB-G RAM-G) scheme, the Centre and the state will share the expenditure in a 60:40 ratio. The state will have to bear the larger share of the expenditure. Regularisation of the contract employees would therefore impose an additional financial burden on the state.