Mgnrega Wages

TMC claims Centre owes West Bengal around Rs 52,000 cr under MGNREGA

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) accused the Union government on Saturday of "misleading" Parliament and claimed that the Centre owes West Bengal approximately Rs 52,000 crore under the flagship rural employment scheme, MGNREGA. At a press conference here, TMC's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Sagarika Ghose, and deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Satabdi Roy, emphasised that West Bengal was one of the top-performing MGNREGA states before funds were halted in March 2022. They highlighted that around 1.37 crore households are enrolled in the scheme, with about 70 lakh households receiving work each year. In written responses provided in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha this week, the Rural Development Ministry informed that the total pending liability for West Bengal under MGNREGA as of March 8, 2022, when the scheme was suspended, stands at Rs 3,082.52 crore. This includes Rs 1,457.22 crore for wages, Rs 1,607.68 crore for materials, and Rs 17.62 crore for administration. The TMC ...

Calcutta HC directs immediate resumption of MGNREGA work in West Bengal

The matter was taken up by the Division Bench comprising Justice Sujoy Paul, acting chief justice, and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, after being mentioned earlier in the day

Demand for work under MGNREGA falls 35% in October, shows data

The incessant rains in rural parts of the country that continued in October as well made several work sites inaccessible for labourers and could have contributed to halting the field work

MGNREGA demand drops 27% in September, third monthly fall in a row

MGNREGA work demand fell 27.1% in September 2025, marking the third straight monthly decline, as kharif sowing, budget curbs and heavy rains reduced rural job uptake

MGNREGA man-days increased to 150 in Himachal after monsoon calamity

In the wake of rain-related disasters in several parts of Himachal Pradesh, the norms under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) have been relaxed in the state, increasing the number of annual man-days from 100 to 150, officials said on Friday. The revised guidelines will be specially applicable in areas where disasters wreaked havoc. The Himachal Pradesh government has declared the entire state as calamity hit and as such it was natural that the demand under MGNREGA would be more. Keeping this in view, the Union Ministry of Agriculture, Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development has recommended an additional 50 days under MGNREGA, which has been approved, an official release said. The additional man-days would be generated with the consent of the state and the Central government and the work would start with the budget available for the projects already approved where additional labour would be engaged, wherever required, the release said. Since the onset of ...

MGNREGA work demand dips 26% in Aug with spike in kharif sowing

While the civil society felt the drop could be due to a squeeze in funding with the Centre directing states to cap MGNREGA labour budget spending to 60 per cent in the first six months

Tamil Nadu's MGNREGA efficiency outpaces bigger and poorer states

Over several financial years, the data shows that Tamil Nadu has received and utilised more funds than many larger and poorer states

MGNREGA verdict in, but tug of war between Centre, state lingers in Bengal

Even as both the TMC and the BJP claim 'victory' after the Calcutta HC's order on resumption of MGNREGA in the state, political fault lines are likely to widen before Assembly polls next year

Work demand under MGNREGA job scheme increased by 4.2% in May, shows data

Data shows that historically, May is a month when MGNREGA work demand is among the highest as traditional activities around agriculture weaken due to the lean cropping season

MGNREGA work demand down 6.6% at 20.1 million in April, shows data

The FY-26 Union Budget had allocated Rs 86,000 crore for the programme for 2025-26, which is exactly the same as the revised and budget estimates of FY-25

Centre approves over Rs 2K crore for MGNREGA wage payments in Bihar

The Centre on Saturday sanctioned the release of Rs 2,102.24 crore to Bihar for the payment of the first installment of funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for the financial year 2025-26. The amount will be used to pay the wages of MGNREGA labourers in the state. A letter to this effect was issued by the Union Ministry of Rural Development from New Delhi. Commenting on it, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said, "The development comes barely five days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bihar. The NDA government is committed to the welfare of MGNREGA workers. To pay the wages of MGNREGA labourers, the Centre has approved the release of Rs 2,102.24 crore as the first installment. We thank the PM for it." Out of the total sanctioned fund, Rs 411.47 crore will be distributed among SC labourers, Rs 438.9 for ST labourers and Rs 164 crore for Other Class workers. The arrears of MNREGA workers will also be paid after ..

'BJP doesn't like Gandhi, MGNREGA named after him': Stalin amid protests

As hundreds of party workers staged massive protests across Tamil Nadu on Saturday, Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin accused the BJP government at the Centre of being "unconcerned" over the plight of the MGNREGA workers. Flaying the BJP government for not releasing the salaries due for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) workers, he said they don't like Mahatma Gandhi and the 100 days work scheme named after him. The ruthless BJP has set out to destroy the #MGNREGA developed by the #UPA government as the backbone and lifeblood of the Indian rural economy. When lakhs of crores of rupees is waived off for the corporates by one signature, why is there no money to be released as salaries to the poor who have toiled with their sweat under the scorching sun? No money or no heart? Stalin asked in a post on the social media platform X. He further said the voices of DMK members and poor people should reach New Delhi through today's protest across .

Govt rejects allegations of bias in MGNREGA fund release amid Oppn protest

The government on Tuesday said it has never discriminated against any state in the release of MGNREGA funds amid a protest by opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha against the alleged delay in payment to some states for the rural employment scheme. As the issue was raised during the Question Hour, the Lok Sabha witnessed protests with DMK and Trinamool Congress MPs entering the well of the House. Speaker Om Birla urged them to return to their seats, but they did not budge. Following this, the House was adjourned till 12 pm. Birla urged the Opposition not to "politicise" the questions raised during the Question Hour. Congress MP from Kerala Adoor Prakash highlighted a decline in the MGNREGA workforce in his state and attributed it to delayed payments and low wages. "Workers in Kerala have not received their wages for the past three months, and Rs 811 crore is due under the scheme. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development has recommended linking MGNREGA wages to inflation

Congress demands hike in MGNREGA wages to Rs 400 per day in Union Budget

Accusing the Modi government of perpetuating a policy of indifference to the plight of MGNREGA workers, the Congress on Monday demanded that the Union Budget must increase MGNREGA wages and the Aadhar Based Payment Bridge Systems not be made mandatory. The opposition party demanded that MGNREGA wages be increased with the goal of hitting Rs 400 per day as a national minimum wage. In a statement, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said MGNREGA wages cannot be set by the arbitrary whims of the government. He said a Standing Committee must be established to evaluate the need for changes in the wage rate. The Aadhar Based Payment Bridge Systems (ABPS) must not be made mandatory, Ramesh said. He also put forward the demand that the number of workdays under MGNREGA must be increased from 100 to 150 days. "One of the earliest indications of Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's uncaring attitude and shortsightedness was his mockery of MGNREGA on the floor of ..

Out of sync: Persistent mismatch between MGNREGA wage growth and inflation

Over the past few years, wage growth has consistently trailed both general and food inflation rates, with the exceptions of FY21 and FY24

Over 3.5 mn MGNREGS job cards deleted, 3.8 mn added in FY25: Govt

More than 35 lakh MGNREGS job cards were deleted in the current fiscal while over 38 lakh were issued, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday. Job cards cannot be deleted due to non-linkage with Aadhaar, Union Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan further said in his written response. "Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS), Aadhar Payment Bridge System is only a mode of payment and job cards cannot be deleted due to reason of non-linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts," he added. Paswan said updation and deletion of job cards was a regular exercise undertaken by states and Union territories. "In the current financial year 2024-25 (as on 16.12.2024), a total number of 35.57 lakh job cards have been deleted," he said. The cards were deleted due to being fake or incorrect, duplicate, households not willing to work, family permanently shifting from gram panchayat and "single person in job card and that per

Too early for mandatory Aadhaar based payment system in MGNREGS: Parl panel

A Parliamentary Panel has recommended that the Rural Development Ministry's Aadhaar Based Payment Bridge System (ABPS) for making payments under MGNREGS should not be made compulsory. In a report tabled in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj also said alternative mechanism should always operate to ensure that the primary goal of the scheme to provide wages does not get defeated due to lack of proper implementation of technology. The Committee pulled up the government on low wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and recommended a better inflation linked index for payment of wages to the workers. The Committee noted that the APBS has been made mandatory since January 1, 2024. "While accepting the gains of APBS, the Committee is of the view that it is too early to make it mandatory as the problems relating to Aadhar seeding still have not been resolved leading to exclusion of lakhs of workers

Parliamentary panel raises concern over low MGNREGS wages, asks for raise

Flagging low wages under MGNREGS, a Parliamentary panel has questioned why the remuneration under the flagship scheme was not linked to an inflation index. It has also urged the Union rural development ministry for devising a mechanism for raising wages under the scheme. Headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, in a report tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, rapped the ministry and said there had been no noticeable change in its stance. It has been sending "stereotype responses" regarding revision of wages, the report said. "Rising inflation and cost of living, be it urban or rural setting, has risen manifold and is evident to all. Even at this moment, going by the notified wage rates of MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), per day wage rate of around Rs 200 in many states defies any logic when the same state has much higher labour rates," the panel said in its report.

Activists counter govt claims of timely MGNREGS payments, demand a raise

Countering the Union rural development ministry's claims of MGNREGS wages being paid on time, the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha on Wednesday alleged the payments to workers' accounts were being delayed by "weeks or months". The organisation -- a national platform of workers' collectives, unions, organisations and individuals working on the flagship rural employment scheme -- also announced a two-day protest at Jantar Mantar, starting Thursday. In a statement, the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha said economist Jean Dreze had pointed out that it was only Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs) that were generated on time, even as crediting of workers' accounts was delayed by weeks or months. The statement said Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) workers debunked the government's claims that the budget for the scheme had been hiked. They also demanded that wages under the scheme be increased to Rs 800 per day. According to the statement, Jharkhand NREGA Watch's Afsana Khatun said

Over 8.4 million MGNREGS workers' registration 'deleted' in six months

While 8.4 million workers were removed from the initiative, over 4.5 million new workers were added during this period, a report by Lib Tech, a consortium of academics and activists, claimed