The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has raised concerns about low wages being paid under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and questioned why the remuneration is not linked to an inflation index, PTI reported on Friday.
The panel urged the Union Ministry of Rural Development to create a mechanism for increasing wages under the scheme, the news agency reported.
MGNREGA is a national social security scheme meant to guarantee at least 100 days of unskilled manual work in a year for every rural household.
In a report tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, the panel criticised the ministry, saying that there had been no noticeable change in its stance on raising wages of workers under the scheme.
The ministry has been sending “stereotype responses” on the matter of the revision of wages, the report said.
“Rising inflation and cost of living, be it urban or rural setting, has risen manifold and is evident to all,” the panel was quoted as having said in its report. “Even at this moment, going by the notified wage rates of MGNREGA, per day wage rate of around Rs 200 in many states defies any logic when the same state has much higher labour rates.”
The panel questioned why the wages under the scheme had not been linked to an index that reflects the current inflation level.
The wages under the scheme were last revised in April, with increases of 4% to 10% across states. Haryana offers the highest wage at Rs 374 per day. Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland have the lowest daily wage of Rs 234.
In 2019, an expert committee had recommended wages of Rs 375 per day under the scheme.
On Thursday, the parliamentary committee urged the Department of Rural Development to reconsider its stance and create a mechanism for increasing the wages under the scheme.
The panel highlighted the disparity in wages across states as a key concern, PTI reported.
“Clause (d) of Article 39 of the Constitution that directs certain principles of policy to be followed by the state provides that there is a provision of equal pay for equal work for both men and women,” the report was quoted as saying.
The panel stated that, under the directive, MGNREGA wages must not differ from state to state.
It also recommended increasing the number of workdays under the scheme from 100 days to 150 days per household.
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