Increase wage rate under MGNREGA: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann to Centre

In a letter to Union rural development and panchayati raj minister Giriraj Singh, the Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann sought upward revision in the rates notified for labour under the scheme as the existing rates were too minuscule.

Punjab chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann on Friday wrote to Centre to increase the wage rate for the state under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to ₹381.06, and bring it at par with the rate notified by state for unskilled agriculture worker.

Punjab chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann on Friday wrote to Centre to increase the wage rate for the state under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to ₹381.06, and bring it at par with the rate notified by state for unskilled agriculture worker. (HT File)

In a letter to Union rural development and panchayati raj minister Giriraj Singh, the CM sought upward revision in the rates notified for labour under the scheme as the existing rates were too minuscule.

He said that for Punjab, a wage rate of ₹303 has been notified, while in neighbouring Haryana, it is comparatively higher at ₹357.

Mann said he has come to know that this difference is existing since the inception of the scheme despite the fact that both states share similar geographic and economic conditions.

The CM bemoaned that the Punjab state labour department’s notified unskilled agricultural labour wage rate of Rs. 381.06 is also higher than the MGNREGA wage rate in the state.

He said that it reflects that the beneficiaries of this scheme are being denied their rightful dues.