Mgnrega Wages

Activists counter govt claims of timely MGNREGS payments, demand a raise

Countering the Union rural development ministry's claims of MGNREGS wages being paid on time, the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha on Wednesday alleged the payments to workers' accounts were being delayed by "weeks or months". The organisation -- a national platform of workers' collectives, unions, organisations and individuals working on the flagship rural employment scheme -- also announced a two-day protest at Jantar Mantar, starting Thursday. In a statement, the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha said economist Jean Dreze had pointed out that it was only Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs) that were generated on time, even as crediting of workers' accounts was delayed by weeks or months. The statement said Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) workers debunked the government's claims that the budget for the scheme had been hiked. They also demanded that wages under the scheme be increased to Rs 800 per day. According to the statement, Jharkhand NREGA Watch's Afsana Khatun said

Over 8.4 million MGNREGS workers' registration 'deleted' in six months

While 8.4 million workers were removed from the initiative, over 4.5 million new workers were added during this period, a report by Lib Tech, a consortium of academics and activists, claimed

MGNREGA demand dips 19% as agriculture activities pick up pace

July and August are usually considered lean months for the scheme in terms of demand for work as agricultural activities are in full swing in the rural parts of the country

Will stock market crash if BJP gets less than 270 seats in Lok Sabha polls?

In the worst case scenario where the NDA is unable to secure a majority (seats less than 272), analysts at Bernstein expect 'heavy profit booking' in the markets with low or negligible returns

Will waive farm loans, raise MGNREGA allowance after coming to power: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said loans of farmers will be waived and the daily allowance under the MGNREGA scheme will be raised from Rs 250 to Rs 400 soon after the party government is formed at the Centre post elections. Addressing a campaign rally at Segaon under Khargone Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh, Gandhi alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made up his mind to alter the Constitution and eventually scrap it. "Soon after coming to power at the Centre, the Congress government will waive loans of farmers and raise the MGNREGA allowance from Rs 250 to Rs 400 per day," he said. Congress has fielded Porlal Kharte and Narendra Patel from Khargone (ST) and Khandwa Lok Sabha constituencies, respectively. "This election is being fought for saving the Constitution, reservations, and also the Jal, Jungle, and Jameen of tribal people, and public sector," Gandhi said. PM Modi wants to give all these things to 22-25 billionaires including Adani, he alleged. He s

Centre notifies 3-10% hike in MGNREGA wage rates for FY25 ahead of polls

Wage rates in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are set to experience the lowest increase at 3% for FY25 compared to FY24, while Goa will see the highest increase at 10.6%

West Bengal starts transfer of MGNREGA dues of around 3 million workers

The West Bengal government has started paying dues of around 30 lakh MGNREGA workers in the state, a senior minister said. The state government started transferring dues amounting to Rs 2,700 crore to the bank accounts of MGNREGA workers on Monday. These dues have been pending from the Centre since March 2022, he said. "A large number of transfers were successfully done yesterday but some were unsuccessful due to technical issues from the bank-end. We hope that the remaining transfers will be completed by today," state Panchayat Minister Pradip Majumdar told PTI. He said around 30 lakh MGNREGA workers will receive the due amounts, with the maximum hailing from South 24 Parganas district. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier this month staged a 48-hour dharna in Kolkata demanding that the Centre release the unpaid dues to the state. She had then announced that her government would transfer the dues to the bank accounts of the MGNREGA workers.

MGNREGA scheme led to decline in gender wage gap in rural India: ILO

The paper also noted that the gap in rural wages between formal salaried workers and casual workers also decreased due to the employment guarantee scheme

Daily wages paid under MGNREGA not adequate, says Parliamentary panel

The daily wages paid under the flagship rural employment scheme - Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme - are inadequate and not in consonance with the rising cost of living, a parliamentary panel told government on Thursday. It said this may be one of the reasons for dearth of workers under the scheme. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, in a report tabled in Lok Sabha, pointed out the high range of variations in MGNREGA wages across the states. "The committee finds the range of wages vary from as little as Rs 221 in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Rs 224 in Arunachal Pradesh, Rs 228 in Bihar and Jharkhand to Rs 354 in the three gram panchayats of Sikkim (Gnathang, Lachung and Lachen), Rs 328 in Nicobar and Rs 311 in Andaman," it said. "Observing the quantum of wages since 2008, the committee finds the wages inadequate and not in consonance with the rising cost of living. At this juncture, the agricultural labourers an

Govt seeks Rs 78k cr cash outgo in second supplementary demand for grants

The second tranche of supplementary grants by various departments and ministries includes Rs 10,798 crore expenditure towards the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

BJP asks TMC not to stage protests over MGNREGA dues during exam month

Accusing the TMC of misusing central funds allocated for West Bengal, the BJP on Monday said the state's ruling party should not stage protests demanding dues from the Union government in February as it will inconvenience lakhs of students appearing for class 10 and 12 board exams. Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on January 26 gave the Centre a seven-day ultimatum to clear all dues failing which the party would launch a massive protest. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari told reporters that if the TMC goes ahead with the programme, the BJP will hold counter-sit-ins demanding that the state come up with figures for utilisation of central allocations under various schemes. "Please think about lakhs of children who will appear for their class 10 and 12 board exams in February. You don't have the right. If you still go ahead with the dharna, BJP will launch counter-agitations," Adhikari said. Cass 10 and 12 exams of various boards including those of West Bengal wi

Rural housing construction may be driving up MGNREGS costs, says ministry

Rs 35,000-40,000 crore of MGNREGS wages have already gone towards the construction of houses under PMAY-Gramin since it was revamped in November 2016

MGNREGS demand continues to be robust even as funds dip, shows data

Almost 80 per cent states have negative balance; all India deficit stands at over 9619 crore

Will issue funds to West Bengal if satisfied with transparency: Centre

The pending MGNREGA funds for West Bengal will be issued when the Centre is satisfied with the "transparency" in the implementation of the scheme, Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh said on Friday amid an ongoing tussle between the state and the Centre on the issue. At a press conference on the achievements of the Rural Development Ministry here, the minister was asked about the West Bengal government's allegation that funds for the rural development scheme have not been released to the state for almost two years. "Payments will be made to West Bengal when the Centre is satisfied over transparency in implementation of the scheme... Have we not given money to Bengal, we are giving them money under other schemes," Singh said. Top leaders of the Trinamool Congress held protests in the national capital on October 2 and 3, demanding that the Centre release the dues. The Centre has alleged that there is corruption in the implementation of the scheme in the Trinamool ...

No constraint of funds for rural job scheme MGNREGA, says Centre

The Union Rural Development Ministry on Thursday said there was no constraint of funds for the rural job scheme MGNREGA and reiterated that funds for West Bengal were not released due to non-compliance of central directives. In a statement, the ministry said, "Funds of State of West Bengal have been stopped from March 9, 2022 as per provision of Section 27 of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 due to non-compliance of directives of Central Government." The statement came on a day West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress conducted a march to the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata to protest against the Centre over MGNREGA dues. The TMC had also staged protests in Delhi on October 3 and 4 demanding release of funds by the Centre. In its statement, the ministry said that by October 4, Rs 56,105.69 crore out of the Rs 60,000 crore budget for the scheme has been released. "Availability of funds is not a constraint for the implementation of the programme," it said. The mini

Deadline for mandatory use of Aadhaar-based payment for MGNREGS is Aug 31

The deadline for implementing Aadhaar-based payment system as the only mode of payment to workers under national rural job guarantee scheme MGNREGS will not be extended beyond August 31, government sources said. The Union government in January this year made the use of Aadhaar-based payment system (ABPS) mandatory for paying wages to those enrolled under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The initial deadline for the mandatory adoption of ABPS mode was February 1, which was later extended to March 31, then till June 30, and eventually till August 31. However, officials in the rural development ministry said the deadline will not be extended any further as over 90 per cent of active workers' accounts have already been linked with Aadhaar. According to a statement issued by the ministry in June, out of the total 14.28 crore active beneficiaries, Aadhaar number has been seeded with 13.75 crore. A total of 12.17 crore Aadhaar numbers have been ..

Centre hikes MGNREGA wages, new rates to be applicable from April 1

In a notification released on March 24, the Union Ministry of Rural Development declared revisions to the rural job guarantee programme for the financial year 2023-24

Centre notifies revised MGNREGA FY24 wage rates; highest for Haryana

The Centre has notified a hike in wage rates under the rural job guarantee programme for the 2023-24 financial year with Haryana having the highest daily wage at Rs 357 per day and Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh the lowest at Rs 221. The Union Ministry of Rural Development issued a notification on the change in wage rates under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme on March 24. The notification was issued under Section 6 (1) of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, that says the Centre may, by notification, specify the wage rate for its beneficiaries. The wage hikes, which range from Rs 7 to Rs 26, will come into effect from April 1. Compared to last year's rates, Rajasthan registered the highest percentage increase in wages. The revised wage for Rajasthan is Rs 255 per day, up from Rs 231 in 2022-23. Bihar and Jharkhand have registered a percentage increase of around eight from last year. Last year, the daily wage for

Plug leakages

Malpractices under MGNREGA must be addressed

States' MGNREGA under probe for potential financial misappropriation

Some states have been using more than permitted MGNREGA funds to build rural infrastructure instead of generating livelihood opportunities for rural needy, says Central government