Hike MGNREGA wages to Rs 400, increase working days: Parliamentary panel to Centre

A parliamentary standing committee on Tuesday urged the Union government to hike wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to at least Rs 400 per day and increase the number of guaranteed working days under the scheme to at least 150 days.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, or 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.

Daily wages under MGNREGA currently range between Rs 241 and Rs 400 in different states.

The Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, in its eighth report submitted to the Lok Sabha, said it was concerned that wages under MGNREGA were failing to keep up with inflation.

“Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme wages remain below subsistence levels, making it difficult for workers to sustain themselves,” the committee headed by Congress member Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka told the Union Ministry of Rural Development.

The base wage rates under the scheme should be revised to ensure that they align with current economic realities, the committee said. “At least Rs 400 per day should be provided as wages, as the current rates are inadequate to meet even basic daily expenses,” it added.

Without a fair wage, the...

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