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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Revised rural job scheme wages only by April by Sreelatha Menon & Dilasha Seth

Revised rural job scheme wages only by April by Sreelatha Menon & Dilasha Seth

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published Published on Jan 31, 2012   modified Modified on Jan 31, 2012

Unlike the dearness allowance that accrues to the salaries of workers every six months without any hassle, the linking of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) wages to inflation or the Consumer Price Index for agricultural wages has not led to a smooth annual revision.

The revision for NREGA wages is supposed to happen every January after it was introduced last January. However, even a month into the new year, the Ministry of Rural Development is clueless on the revised wages for NREGA this year. A senior official said that the new wages were likely to be paid only by April.

The ministry says it has not yet estimated the increase it is supposed to notify this month. An approximate rise of 12 per cent is expected, a senior official said.

The inflation data for the year, however, shows that it rose to 6.3 per cent by December 2011 when the CPI AL index stood at 618 compared to 580 in December the previous year. If the data for all the 12 months for two years are taken into account, inflation rose by 8.77 per cent in the two years.

Last year in January, when the government linked the wages to inflation, the increase was to the extent of 17 to 30 per cent.

The Ministry of Rural Development is currently consulting the Labour Ministry for the complete data on last year's inflation, ministry officials said. Subsequent to obtaining this data, the ministry would compare the inflation levels between December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2011 and add the increased inflation percentage to wages, the ministry says.

“We will issue orders once we get the revised numbers following which it is for the states to issue notifications on the changes they make in their wages — in their schedule of rates, and in the estimates of the works they have planned,'' an official said.

According to the ministry, this revision of the cost of all the listed works is very tedious and can take time. About 60 lakh works are listed. While some are ongoing, some are for the future.

The ministry is also waiting for the Supreme Court order on the Special Leave Petition seeking a stay on the Karnataka High Court ruling that the State pay minimum wages to workers under NREGA. The ministry sought a stay on this ruling in the Supreme Court, but it was denied.

Earlier in 2009, the ministry had frozen NREGA wages for nearly two years till it decided to link it to inflation. The revised wages were paid in January last year.


The Business Standard, 29 January, 2012, http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/revised-rural-job-scheme-wages-only-by-april/463077/


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