Did MGNREGA act as safety net for casual labour during sowing, harvest?

Civil society groups say the VB-G RAM G Bill could weaken casual labour's bargaining power, as MGNREGA served as a safety net and fallback when farm wages were unattractive

One of the most contentious aspects of the new Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, which seeks to replace the 20-year-old MGNREGA, is that it empowers the states to pause the scheme for 60 days of their choice during peak sowing and harvest seasons.

 

The provision in the Bill has raised many objections, with a section of civil society alleging that it will reduce the bargaining power of manual casual labour, as MGNREGA acted as a safety net and a fallback option if farms did not give them a better deal in terms of wages.

 

 

Data shows that typically, work demand for MGNREGS dipped from July to November in each financial year, coinciding with peak kharif and rabi sowing and harvest seasons across India. This also meant that farms offered better wages to casual labour during sowing or harvesting time, or MGNREGA wages were so low that they were not the first choice for workers and only acted as a safety net in times of crisis.

 

With this safety net gone, civil society groups and activists said that it could open the labour market to exploitation. The government opined that the two-month pause in work will have to be aggregated and not continuous and will prevent labour shortages during critical farm operations and avoid labour being diverted away to guaranteed-wage worksites.

 

This, in turn, would prevent wage inflation, as stopping public works during peaks prevents artificial wage inflation that raises food production costs. On Thursday, the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha.  State-Wise MGNREGA wage rates compared to average wages of general agriculture workers (male) and Minimum Wages  In Rs/Day 

S No.	State/UT	2024-25#	2024-25&	Minimum Wages**
1	Andhra Pradesh	300	463.2	312
2	Arunachal Pradesh	234	NA	200
3	Assam	249	384.8	255
4	Bihar	245	362.8	235
5	Chhattisgarh	243	NA	240
6	Goa	356	NA	325
7	Gujarat	280	280.8	304
8	Haryana	374	499.2	340
9	Himachal Pradesh  (Non-Scheduled Areas)	236	576	171
10	Jammu And Kashmir	259	589.8	225
11	Jharkhand	245	NA	239
12	Karnataka	349	454.3	411
13	Kerala	346	868.7	287
14	Ladakh	259	NA	NA
14	Madhya Pradesh	243	256.4	235
15	Maharashtra	297	343.2	202
16	Manipur	272	NA	225
17	Meghalaya	254	334.5	196
18	Mizoram	266	NA	270
19	Nagaland	234	NA	NA
20	Odisha	254	368.7	280
21	Punjab	322	420.9	311
22	Rajasthan	266	407.4	213
23	Sikkim	249	NA	300
24	Tamil Nadu	319	573.2	132
25	Telangana	300	NA	327
26	Tripura	242	379.8	170
27	Uttar Pradesh	237	354.8	295
28	Uttarakhand	237	NA	261
29	West Bengal	250	347.2	166
30	Andaman	329	NA	451
31	Nicobar	347	NA
32	Dn Haveli	324	NA	294
33	Daman & Diu	324	NA	294
34	Lakshadweep	315	NA	401
35	Puducherry	319	NA	206
36	Himachal Pradesh (Scheduled  Areas)	295	516	171
37	Sikkim (3 Gps)	374	NA	300

  #State/UT-wise daily wage rates for unskilled workers under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS for the Financial Year 2024-25 & State wise average daily wage rates in rural areas for general agricultural workers ( male). Yearly average wage rate has been calculated from monthy average wage rates  **Daily Minimum Wages of unskilled workers as per 2018-19 data  Source: MGNREGA website, RBI, and Economic Survey 2018-19