Discuss whether the right to work can be read into Article 21 of the Constitution. Critically examine this in light of the transition from MGNREGA to the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025.

The Constitution places the right to work under Article 41, a Directive Principle, not Part III. The question resurfaced when a Bench of CJI Surya Kant with Justices Bagchi and Mohana, hearing Aruna Roy's plea on delayed rural wages, asked whether such a right can be elevated to Article 21 [3].

The case for reading it into Article 21

• Article 21 has already been expanded to include the right to livelihood (Olga Tellis, 1985); work is the ordinary means of livelihood.
• DPSPs are routinely used to give content to Part III rights — Articles 39(a) and 41 supply that content here.
• Paying below State-notified minimum wages was argued to approach forced labour under Article 23 [3].

The case against

• The Court itself noted the framers deliberately kept work among the State's obligations, not enforceable rights [3].
• It is a positive, resource-dependent right; the CJI cautioned that mandating higher wages without matching resources could shrink the number of workers who actually get work [3].
• Enforcement would mean courts issuing mandatory fiscal directions, straining separation of powers [3].

What the MGNREGA → VB-G RAM G transition reveals

• The VB–G RAM G Act, 2025, effective 1 July 2026, repeals MGNREGA: the guarantee rises 100 → 125 days, permissible works narrow to four verticals (water security, rural infrastructure, livelihood assets, climate resilience), and the administrative ceiling rises 6% → 9% [1][2].
• Yet funding moves to 60:40 Centre–State, sharply enlarging the States' burden and risking dilution in fiscally weaker States [1].
• Crucially, the entitlement rested on ordinary legislation — repealable at will. The Court disposed of the plea but granted liberty to challenge the new Act [3], underlining that statutory guarantees alone are fragile.

Thus a free-standing fundamental right to employment is not yet tenable, but Article 21 read with Articles 23 and 41 sustains a defensible floor — minimum wages, timely payment, non-arbitrary withdrawal. The way forward lies in credible funding through cooperative federalism and statutory payment timelines, so that the promise of Article 41 is realised administratively rather than only through litigation.