Lok Sabha Question No. 581 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-06-25
Subject: Wages under MGNREGA
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: T.N. Prathapan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 581

TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.06.2019

## WAGES UNDER MGNREGA

## 581. SHRI T.N. PRATHAPAN:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  it  is  true  that  the  wages  being  paid  under  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural Employment Guarantee Act(MGNREGA) have fallen below the minimum wage in thirty four of the thirty five States and Union Territories;
- (b) if so, the reasons therefor;
- (c) the revised wage rates under MGNREGA in various States including Kerala;
- (d) whether the Government is aware that the wages under MGNREGA continue to remain below the minimum wages of corresponding States;
- (e) if so, the action taken to ensure parity between these;
- (f) the other action taken by the Government to increase minimum working days under the scheme; and
- (g) whether  the  Government  has  any  proposal  to  redesign  the  scheme  by  covering  more beneficiaries from the agriculture sector too and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) to (e): Wage rates for workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 are notified and revised annually by the Central Government in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Section  6(1)  of  the  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGA  based  on Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL). State/UT-wise minimum wage rates are not  maintained by the  Ministry.  State/UT-wise notified wage rates including for Kerala under MGNREGA for the financial year 2019-20 is given at Annexure.

(f): As  per  Section  3(1)  of  MGNREGA,  the  State  Governments  shall  provide  to  every household, work at least one hundred days in accordance with the Scheme to be made under the Act.  An additional 50 days of wage employment are provided over and above 100 days in the notified drought affected areas or natural calamity areas in the country on recommendation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Moreover, Section 3 (4) has the enabling provision for creating wage employment beyond the stipulated period of 100 days of work per household in a financial year. Section 3 (4) reads, 'The Central Government or the State Government may, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make provisions for securing work to  every  adult  member  of  a  household  under  a  Scheme  for  any  period  beyond  the  period guaranteed of 100 days of work as may be expedient'.

- (g): The Schedule-I of MGNREGA mandates to ensure that at least 60% of the works to be taken up in a district in terms of cost shall be for creation of productive assets directly linked to agriculture and allied activities. Expenditure in agriculture and allied activities works during the last three year are given below:

| Percentage of expenditure in agriculture and allied activities   |   2016-17 |   2017-18 |   2018-19 |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| works                                                            |        66 |     66.07 |     63.43 |

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## Annexure referred in reply to parts (a)to(e) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.581 dated 25.06.2019

Notified wage rates under MGNREGA (In Rs)

|   Sl. No | States              | 2019-20                                     |
|----------|---------------------|---------------------------------------------|
|        1 | ANDHRA PRADESH      | 211                                         |
|        2 | ARUNACHAL PRADESH   | 192                                         |
|        3 | ASSAM               | 193                                         |
|        4 | BIHAR               | 171                                         |
|        5 | CHHATTISGARH        | 176                                         |
|        6 | GOA                 | 254                                         |
|        7 | GUJARAT             | 199                                         |
|        8 | HARYANA             | 284                                         |
|        9 | HIMACHAL PRADESH    | Non-scheduled Areas-185 Scheduled Areas-231 |
|       10 | JAMMU AND KASHMIR   | 189                                         |
|       11 | JHARKHAND           | 171                                         |
|       12 | KARNATAKA           | 249                                         |
|       13 | KERALA              | 271                                         |
|       14 | MADHYA PRADESH      | 176                                         |
|       15 | MAHARASHTRA         | 206                                         |
|       16 | MANIPUR             | 219                                         |
|       17 | MEGHALAYA           | 187                                         |
|       18 | MIZORAM             | 211                                         |
|       19 | NAGALAND            | 192                                         |
|       20 | ODISHA              | 188                                         |
|       21 | PUNJAB              | 241                                         |
|       22 | RAJASTHAN           | 199                                         |
|       23 | SIKKIM              | 192                                         |
|       24 | TAMIL NADU          | 229                                         |
|       25 | TELANGANA           | 211                                         |
|       26 | TRIPURA             | 192                                         |
|       27 | UTTAR PRADESH       | 182                                         |
|       28 | UTTRAKHAND          | 182                                         |
|       29 | WEST BENGAL         | 191                                         |
|       30 | ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR | Andaman district-250 Nicobar district-264   |
|       31 | DADRA&NAGAR HAVELI  | 224                                         |
|       32 | DAMAN &DIU          | 202                                         |
|       33 | LAKSHADWEEP         | 248                                         |
|       34 | PUDUCHERRY          | 229                                         |
|       35 | CHANDIGARH          | -                                           |