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Expand MGNREGS to 150 days: House panel
The House panel also made a “strong appeal” to authorities to change the index that decides wage revision for better wages under the programme.
New Delhi: A Parliamentary panel has recommended extension of work allocation under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), India’s flagship job scheme, to 150 days per year, according to a committee report.
The MGNREGS currently guarantees 100 days of wage employment to each person in a year.
The panel also made a “strong appeal” to authorities to change the index that decides wage revision for better wages under the programme.
In a report on August 3, the panel said the MGNREGS is the “last ray of hope for the poor rural masses in the unprecedented challenging times” and sought a revamp of the scheme “in such a way that the number of guaranteed days of work under MGNREGA be increased from the existing 100 days to 150 days.”
While states are entitled to increase MGNREGS by 50 days, the panel, led by Shiv Sena’s Prataprao Jadhav, was of the “firm view that the mandatory increase in number of guaranteed days should be brought about by moving an amendment in the Act in order to make it applicable for the entire country, so that the demand of needy beneficiaries may not hinge upon the arbitrariness of the State Governments.”
The panel also urged the rural development ministry to link MGNREGS wages to Consumer Price Index – Rural (CPI-R) instead of Consumer Price Index – Agricultural Labour (CPI-AL).
The CPI-R, experts believe, can help ensure higher annual hikes to MGNREGS workers as the index gives more weightage to food items.
The ministry, however, informed the panel that after the due consultation with the ministry of statistics and ministry of labour & employment, it has been decided to continue with the existing index CPI-AL for wage rate revision.
In another report, published on the same day, the panel asked the ministry to cut down on the unspent fund.
“While emphasising the need for full utilisation of funds in schematic interventions for the welfare of rural masses, the Committee in their Report had recommended DoRD (department of rural development) to ensure expeditious liquidation of unspent balances,” the report said.
