Rajasthan agrees to NREGA workers' demand

The Rajasthan government today said it would index the payment for work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to the rate of inflation. This would be the first such move by any state since the Centre froze minimum wages for the scheme two years before, at Rs 100 a day.

This is one of the conditions the government agreed to while arriving at a settlement with the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan in this regard. It has been leading NREGA workers on an agitation for the past 47 days, seeking a payment equal to the (higher) state minimum wage.

NREGA wages are lower than the statutory minimum wage in many states and Sonia Gandhi, president of both the ruling Congress party and the National Advisory Council, had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure an end to the anomaly.

“With the endorsement of our stand by Mrs Gandhi, we are assured that the rights of the workers will be respected, and the central government will issue necessary orders in line with (her) suggestions,” said Nikhil De of MKSS.