Parliamentary panel criticises low wages under MGNREGA, recommends reforms
New Delhi: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has expressed concern over the low wages provided under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), highlighting the need for urgent revisions. The panel has urged the Ministry of Rural Development to link wages under the scheme to an inflation index, ensuring they reflect the rising cost of living.
In its report tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, the panel criticised the ministry for its lack of progress on increasing wages, noting that responses to wage revision proposals were “stereotyped.” The committee pointed out the inadequacy of the current daily wage rates—averaging around ₹200 in many states—which it deemed illogical given significantly higher labour rates elsewhere.
The report also flagged disparities in MGNREGA wages across states, urging the government to align them with Article 39(d) of the Constitution, which mandates equal pay for equal work irrespective of gender.
While the wages were last revised in April 2024, with increases ranging from 4% to 10%, the committee observed that the highest daily wage, ₹374 in Haryana, and the lowest, ₹234 in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, were still insufficient.
The panel also recommended increasing the number of guaranteed workdays under the scheme from 100 to 150 per household, to provide enhanced economic support to rural families.
Introduced as a social security initiative, MGNREGA aims to guarantee at least 100 days of unskilled manual labour to rural households annually. However, the scheme’s current implementation, particularly its wage structure, has drawn criticism for failing to address inflationary pressures effectively.
The committee urged the Ministry of Rural Development to adopt mechanisms ensuring fair wages and uniformity across states, reinforcing the scheme’s intended goal of economic security for rural workers.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bengaluru: Case registered in connection with COVID-19 mismanagement
Bengaluru, Dec 14: A case was registered at the Vidhana Soudha Police Station on Friday in connection with alleged irregularities in COVID-19 management.
The case was registered on a complaint by Medical Education Department Chief Accounts Officer Dr M Vishnu Prasad against Dr P G Girish, government officer Raghu G P, non gazetted officer in the Health and Family Welfare Muniraju N, two firms Laj Exports, Prudent Management Solutions, unknown public representatives, government officers and others.
Prasad in his complaint said that during the Covid-19 pandemic, Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) was misused while buying N95 Masks, Personal Protection Equipments (PPE) kits and other materials which were essential for the prevention of Covid-19 through the Medical Education Department and defrauded all the processes of the law.
The government officers along with other individuals connived and collected these essential materials and misappropriated hundreds of crores of rupees in the name of COVID management, he said.
The action was taken on the basis of the recommendations of an inquiry panel headed by Justice John Michael D'Cunha, who said that large scale corruption has taken place in the COVID management.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah too had said a few weeks ago that the government would get the COVID-19 related irregularities investigated.
