The Union Government on Thursday revised the wages for works done under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the range of by Re 1 to Rs 17 per day. In Madhya Pradesh, the wages have been increased by Rs 2 per day. The Modi government issued revised wage notification for 2019-20 after attaining an NOC from the Election Commission of India on Thursday.
Wages for Goa, Karnataka and Kerala states did not get any hike while lowest hike of Re 1 was given to states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Workers from poor states like Jharkhand and Bihar did not get any hike last year. According to current notification, Jharkhand got a hike of Rs 3 while Bihar got a hike of Rs 2 only this year. The average hike in wages across the country stands at 2.6%.
MGNREGA had hit the headlines recently after Union Govt did not issue any fund for it from October onwards. It had asked the state govts to release payment from their kitty to which they had refused.
Some Numbers on MGNREGA
‘Surgical strike on poor’
MGNREGA Sangharsh Morcha has condemned the decision calling it anti-worker. “At a time when the country is going through one of the worst employment crisis in decades- this meagre hike in NREGA wages is nothing less than a surgical strike on the poor,” said Morcha. Despite recommendations from government appointed committees to link MGNREGA wages with state minimum wages and to index the wage rate to consumer price index, the government did not implement it. Even the SC has upheld minimum wages as a fundamental right and equated less payment to forced labour, said Morcha official.
