Lok Sabha Question No. 4052 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-25
Subject: Delay in Wage Payment
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri K C Venugopal

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4052

## ANSWERED ON 25/03/2025

## DELAY IN WAGE PAYMENT

## 4052. SHRI K C VENUGOPAL:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the recent study published  in  the  Indian  Journal  of  Labour  Economics,  which revealed  that  the  Union  Government  owes  Rs.  39  crore  in delayed wages to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) workers;
- (b) whether the Government acknowledges the  findings of study that  the  Aadhaar-Based  Payment  System  (ABPS)  and  castebased  wage  distribution  have  inadvertently  contributed  to these delays rather than expediting payment disbursement;
- (c)    the specific remedial measures have been implemented or are being  planned  to  address  the  operational  challenges  in  the ABPS and the issues arising from caste-based wage distribution; and
- (d) the  timeline  and  mechanisms  has  put  in  place  to  ensure  the prompt clearance of  all  outstanding  wage  dues  to  MGNREGS workers?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

- (a): Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme  (Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS)  is  a  demand  driven  wage employment Scheme. Under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS, wage payments  are  directly  credited  by  the  Central  Government  to  the account of beneficiaries through the Direct Benefit Transfer protocol.

During  the  financial  year  2024-25  (as  on  19.03.2025),  a  total amount  of  Rs. 84,114.70 crore has been  released under the

Mahatma Gandhi NREGS, which includes  Rs. 62,660.45 crore for the and wage component and Rs.21,454.25 crore for material administrative components.

Regarding  the  delayed  wages  it  is  stated  that  as  per  the provisions mentioned in Schedule-II of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA), wage seekers  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  payment  of  compensation  for the delay, at the rate of 0.05% of the unpaid wages per day of delay beyond  the  sixteenth  day  of  closure  of  muster  roll.The  State due verification  within  the  time  limits  specified  above  and  recover  the agencies

Government shall pay the compensation upfront after compensation amount from the functionaries or responsible for the delay in payment.

(b)& (c): To ensure timely payment of wages to the beneficiaries under  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS  and  to  address  the  issues  arising due to frequent changes in bank account numbers of the beneficiaries  and  subsequent  non-updation,  it  was  decided to implement Aadhar Payment Bridge System (APBS). This has been made  mandatory  with  effect  from  1st  January  2024.  Currently, against  total  of  13.58  crore  active  workers   Aadhaar  seeding  of 99.50%  have  already  been  completed. State/UTs  are  continuously being  monitored  by  the  Central  Government  for  achieving  100% Aadhaar Seeding and APBS conversion in NREGASoft. As and when any issue is flagged by the State/UT or any other stakeholders, the same is resolved on priority basis.

The category-wise (SC, ST, and Others) wage payment system under  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS  has  been  introduced  as  per  policy decision  taken  by  Government   to  keep  record  of  the  benefits delivered  under  scheme  to  the  beneficiaries  belonging  to  weaker participation, preventing  discrimination,  and  enabling  better  policy  decisions  for

Sections of Society. It also helps in tracking financial planning and budget allocation.

(d): Fund  release  to  the  States/Union  Territories  is  a  continuous process  and  Central  Government  is  committed  for  making  funds

available to States/UTs for the implementation of the Scheme as per demand for work on the ground.

As  per  the  provision  of  the  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural Employment  Guarantee  Act,  the  beneficiaries  are  entitled  to  get wage payment within 15 days of closure of Muster Roll of the work. Government of India has also issued a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to the States to ensure timely wage payment. The Ministry  in  coordination  with  the  States/UTs  has  been  making concerted  efforts  for  improving  the  timely  payment  of  wages. States/UTs have been advised to generate pay orders in time. The Ministry has taken various steps to ensure timely payment of wages to  workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). These include:

- (i)  Upscaling of National Electronic Fund Management System (NeFMS)
- (ii) Intensive consultation with State Governments  and other stakeholders to strategise timely payment of wages, verification of pending compensation claims etc.
- (iii)  Formulation of Standard Operating Procedure for monitoring of timely payment and payment of compensation.
- (iv) During various meeting with States/UTs, which includes, Meeting  for  finalisation  of  Annual  Action  Plan,  Mid-Term  Review meeting,  Monthly  Review  Meeting  and  visit  of  senior  officers  to States/UTs,  matter  regarding  the  timely  payment  of  wages  and payment of delay compensation is regularly reviewed.

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