Key Details
The Departments of Rural Development and Animal Husbandry and Dairying want States to use existing permissible works under the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB–G RAM G) to meet local fodder and livestock needs.
Works identified: 22 of the programme’s 375 permissible works cover activities such as fodder cultivation and storage, community pastures, livestock shelters, milk collection centres and veterinary facilities.
Expenditure priority: States and UTs are encouraged to progressively move towards at least 5% of programme expenditure on fodder and livestock-supportive works, subject to local needs, approved plans and applicable guidelines. This is an advisory priority, not a mandatory allocation.
Village planning: Gram Panchayats are to bring suitable works into Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans, with priorities approved through the Gram Sabha. The advisory suggests particular attention to places where more than 30% of residents depend on livestock.
State coordination: State Action Plans should bring rural development, animal husbandry, agriculture and other relevant departments together. State-specific fodder resource plans prepared by ICAR–Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute may guide local choices.
Rural Employment Works Could Address a Livestock Constraint
VB–G RAM G, in force since 1 July 2026, guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household and provides for the creation of durable assets. The advisory links those two purposes to a practical need: livestock-dependent households require fodder, grazing resources and basic animal-care infrastructure as well as wage income.
The 22 identified works range from cultivating fodder and developing community pastures to building eligible shelters, storage facilities and community veterinary centres. They are options within the programme’s approved list.
Village Priorities Will Determine What Gets Built
The proposed expenditure share gives States a direction, but Gram Sabha-approved local plans remain the basis for selecting works. This is important as a pasture, fodder bank or milk collection centre is useful only where it matches local livestock needs and can be maintained.
The advisory also points States to climate-resilient fodder varieties, perennial grasses and integrated crop–livestock systems where these fit the permissible works. Projects must retain the Act’s safeguards, including social audits, weekly public disclosure, grievance redressal and the district-level 40% ceiling on material costs.
Policy Relevance
For small farmers and landless households reliant on animals, a shortage of fodder or functioning shared facilities can constrain earnings even when livestock ownership or dairy markets exist. The advisory gives States a way to connect employment-funded asset creation with that livelihood need.
The consequential choice is local: which assets solve a documented shortage, who can use them, and who will maintain them?
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How will Gram Panchayats identify and maintain the fodder and livestock assets most needed locally, while ensuring that small farmers and landless livestock-dependent households can benefit?
Follow the Full Press Release Here: Department of Rural Development and DAHD Join Hands to Boost Fodder Production and Livestock Infrastructure