(PTI)
Wages given under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) are lower than the agricultural wages in as many as 17 states and Union Territories, the Lok Sabha was informed today. The Ministry of Rural Development had constituted a committee on revision of pay under the MGNREGA. “As per the committee, the MGNREGA notified wage rate is lower than the agricultural wage rate in 17 states/UTs,” Minister of State for Rural Development Ram Kripal Yadav said in a written reply. In Jharkhand, Karnataka and Punjab among others, the MNREGA wages are lower than the notified agricultural wages in these states, he said.
The minister added that in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Nagaland, the MNREGA wages are almost double the minimum agricultural wages notified in these states. MGNREGA wages are indexed to state-wise consumer price index for agricultural labourers and based on this index, the wage rates are revised each financial year for all states/UTs. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme provides for enhancement of livelihood security of the households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed employment.
