Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
$message = 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
$stackFrame = (int) 1
$trace = [
	(int) 0 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ServerRequest.php',
		'line' => (int) 2421,
		'function' => 'deprecationWarning',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead.'
		]
	],
	(int) 1 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
		'line' => (int) 73,
		'function' => 'offsetGet',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'catslug'
		]
	],
	(int) 2 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Controller/Controller.php',
		'line' => (int) 610,
		'function' => 'printArticle',
		'class' => 'App\Controller\ArtileDetailController',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 3 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 120,
		'function' => 'invokeAction',
		'class' => 'Cake\Controller\Controller',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 94,
		'function' => '_invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/BaseApplication.php',
		'line' => (int) 235,
		'function' => 'dispatch',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\BaseApplication',
		'object' => object(App\Application) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 162,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 88,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 96,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 51,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Server.php',
		'line' => (int) 98,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\MiddlewareQueue) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/webroot/index.php',
		'line' => (int) 39,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Server',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Server) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	]
]
$frame = [
	'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
	'line' => (int) 73,
	'function' => 'offsetGet',
	'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
	'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {
		trustProxy => false
		[protected] params => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] data => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] query => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] cookies => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _environment => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] url => 'news-alerts-57/open-letter-from-nrega-workers-put-govt-to-shame-4679246/print'
		[protected] base => ''
		[protected] webroot => '/'
		[protected] here => '/news-alerts-57/open-letter-from-nrega-workers-put-govt-to-shame-4679246/print'
		[protected] trustedProxies => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] _input => null
		[protected] _detectors => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _detectorCache => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] stream => object(Zend\Diactoros\PhpInputStream) {}
		[protected] uri => object(Zend\Diactoros\Uri) {}
		[protected] session => object(Cake\Http\Session) {}
		[protected] attributes => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] emulatedAttributes => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] uploadedFiles => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] protocol => null
		[protected] requestTarget => null
		[private] deprecatedProperties => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	},
	'type' => '->',
	'args' => [
		(int) 0 => 'catslug'
	]
]
deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
$message = 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
$stackFrame = (int) 1
$trace = [
	(int) 0 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ServerRequest.php',
		'line' => (int) 2421,
		'function' => 'deprecationWarning',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead.'
		]
	],
	(int) 1 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
		'line' => (int) 74,
		'function' => 'offsetGet',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'artileslug'
		]
	],
	(int) 2 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Controller/Controller.php',
		'line' => (int) 610,
		'function' => 'printArticle',
		'class' => 'App\Controller\ArtileDetailController',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 3 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 120,
		'function' => 'invokeAction',
		'class' => 'Cake\Controller\Controller',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 94,
		'function' => '_invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/BaseApplication.php',
		'line' => (int) 235,
		'function' => 'dispatch',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\BaseApplication',
		'object' => object(App\Application) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 162,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 88,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 96,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 51,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Server.php',
		'line' => (int) 98,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\MiddlewareQueue) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/webroot/index.php',
		'line' => (int) 39,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Server',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Server) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	]
]
$frame = [
	'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
	'line' => (int) 74,
	'function' => 'offsetGet',
	'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
	'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {
		trustProxy => false
		[protected] params => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] data => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] query => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] cookies => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _environment => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] url => 'news-alerts-57/open-letter-from-nrega-workers-put-govt-to-shame-4679246/print'
		[protected] base => ''
		[protected] webroot => '/'
		[protected] here => '/news-alerts-57/open-letter-from-nrega-workers-put-govt-to-shame-4679246/print'
		[protected] trustedProxies => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] _input => null
		[protected] _detectors => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _detectorCache => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] stream => object(Zend\Diactoros\PhpInputStream) {}
		[protected] uri => object(Zend\Diactoros\Uri) {}
		[protected] session => object(Cake\Http\Session) {}
		[protected] attributes => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] emulatedAttributes => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] uploadedFiles => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] protocol => null
		[protected] requestTarget => null
		[private] deprecatedProperties => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	},
	'type' => '->',
	'args' => [
		(int) 0 => 'artileslug'
	]
]
deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

            } else {
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

	'status' => (int) 200,
	'contentType' => 'text/html',
	'headers' => [
		'Content-Type' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	],
	'file' => null,
	'fileRange' => [],
	'cookies' => object(Cake\Http\Cookie\CookieCollection) {},
	'cacheDirectives' => [],
	'body' => '<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
        "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67eff6639e849-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67eff6639e849-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
</span></span></code>
<span class="code-highlight"><code><span style="color: #000000">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;link&nbsp;rel="canonical"&nbsp;href="<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">Configure</span><span style="color: #007700">::</span><span style="color: #0000BB">read</span><span style="color: #007700">(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">'SITE_URL'</span><span style="color: #007700">);&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$urlPrefix</span><span style="color: #007700">;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">category</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">slug</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>/<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">seo_url</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>.html"/&gt;
</span></code></span>
<code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">meta&nbsp;http</span><span style="color: #007700">-</span><span style="color: #0000BB">equiv</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"Content-Type"&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">content</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"text/html;&nbsp;charset=utf-8"</span><span style="color: #007700">/&gt;
</span></span></code></pre><pre id="cakeErr67eff6639e849-context" class="cake-context" style="display: none;">$viewFile = &#039;/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp&#039;
$dataForView = [
	&#039;article_current&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 31178,
		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame&#039;,
		&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp;amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. 
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister&#039;s Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &amp;quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more 
than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement the
recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend 
an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of 
government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. 
You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big 
companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&amp;quot;.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
It is further mentioned in the letter that &amp;quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;iframe src=&quot;https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;amp;t=COLUMN&amp;amp;uiversion=2&amp;amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;amp;gco_legend=right&amp;amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;amp;att=true&amp;amp;width=1000&amp;amp;height=585&quot; width=&quot;1000&quot; height=&quot;600&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).
Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;MGNREGA wage determination&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In an article written for The Hindu entitled &lt;em&gt;A drought of action&lt;/em&gt;, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year&#039;s employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand&#039;s Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi&#039;s Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A drought of action -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre&#039;s Promises Don&#039;t Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp;amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze&lt;/strong&gt; 
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif&#039;,
		&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif&#039;,
		&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
		&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 4,
		&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;open-letter-from-nrega-workers-put-govt-to-shame-4679246&#039;,
		&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
		&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 4679246,
		&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;
	
	},
	&#039;articleid&#039; =&gt; (int) 31178,
	&#039;metaTitle&#039; =&gt; &#039;NEWS ALERTS | Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame&#039;,
	&#039;metaKeywords&#039; =&gt; &#039;drought,Employment,mgnrega wage rate,NREGS,NREGA,mgnrega,minimum wages,minimum wage,wage rate,wage payments,NREGA Wages&#039;,
	&#039;metaDesc&#039; =&gt; &#039;
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. 

Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp;amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister&#039;s Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &amp;quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement therecommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&amp;quot;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It is further mentioned in the letter that &amp;quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;iframe src=&quot;https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;amp;t=COLUMN&amp;amp;uiversion=2&amp;amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;amp;gco_legend=right&amp;amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;amp;att=true&amp;amp;width=1000&amp;amp;height=585&quot; width=&quot;1000&quot; height=&quot;600&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;MGNREGA wage determination&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot; title=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In an article written for The Hindu entitled &lt;em&gt;A drought of action&lt;/em&gt;, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year&#039;s employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot; title=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand&#039;s Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi&#039;s Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A drought of action -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre&#039;s Promises Don&#039;t Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot; title=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp;amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot; title=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;English&#039;,
	&#039;SITE_URL&#039; =&gt; &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;,
	&#039;site_title&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change&#039;,
	&#039;adminprix&#039; =&gt; &#039;admin&#039;
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 31178,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp;amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. 
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister&#039;s Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &amp;quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more 
than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement the
recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend 
an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of 
government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. 
You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big 
companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&amp;quot;.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
It is further mentioned in the letter that &amp;quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;iframe src=&quot;https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;amp;t=COLUMN&amp;amp;uiversion=2&amp;amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;amp;gco_legend=right&amp;amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;amp;att=true&amp;amp;width=1000&amp;amp;height=585&quot; width=&quot;1000&quot; height=&quot;600&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).
Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;MGNREGA wage determination&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In an article written for The Hindu entitled &lt;em&gt;A drought of action&lt;/em&gt;, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year&#039;s employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand&#039;s Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi&#039;s Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A drought of action -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre&#039;s Promises Don&#039;t Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp;amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze&lt;/strong&gt; 
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif&#039;,
	&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif&#039;,
	&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
	&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 4,
	&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;open-letter-from-nrega-workers-put-govt-to-shame-4679246&#039;,
	&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
	&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 4679246,
	&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
		(int) 0 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 1 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 2 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 3 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 4 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 5 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 6 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 7 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 8 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 9 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 10 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
		&#039;*&#039; =&gt; true,
		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; false
	],
	&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;

}
$articleid = (int) 31178
$metaTitle = &#039;NEWS ALERTS | Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame&#039;
$metaKeywords = &#039;drought,Employment,mgnrega wage rate,NREGS,NREGA,mgnrega,minimum wages,minimum wage,wage rate,wage payments,NREGA Wages&#039;
$metaDesc = &#039;
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. 

Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp;amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister&#039;s Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &amp;quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement therecommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&amp;quot;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It is further mentioned in the letter that &amp;quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;iframe src=&quot;https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;amp;t=COLUMN&amp;amp;uiversion=2&amp;amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;amp;gco_legend=right&amp;amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;amp;att=true&amp;amp;width=1000&amp;amp;height=585&quot; width=&quot;1000&quot; height=&quot;600&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;MGNREGA wage determination&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot; title=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In an article written for The Hindu entitled &lt;em&gt;A drought of action&lt;/em&gt;, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year&#039;s employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot; title=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand&#039;s Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi&#039;s Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A drought of action -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre&#039;s Promises Don&#039;t Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot; title=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp;amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot; title=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&#039;
$lang = &#039;English&#039;
$SITE_URL = &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;
$site_title = &#039;im4change&#039;
$adminprix = &#039;admin&#039;</pre><pre class="stack-trace">include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51</pre></div></pre>news-alerts-57/open-letter-from-nrega-workers-put-govt-to-shame-4679246.html"/>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
    <link href="https://im4change.in/css/control.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
          media="all"/>
    <title>NEWS ALERTS | Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame | Im4change.org</title>
    <meta name="description" content="
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&rsquo;s social welfare policies. 

Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up..."/>
    <script src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-1.10.2.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-migrate.min.js"></script>
    <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">

        $(document).ready(function () {
            var img = $("img")[0]; // Get my img elem
            var pic_real_width, pic_real_height;
            $("<img/>") // Make in memory copy of image to avoid css issues
                .attr("src", $(img).attr("src"))
                .load(function () {
                    pic_real_width = this.width;   // Note: $(this).width() will not
                    pic_real_height = this.height; // work for in memory images.
                });
        });
    </script>
    <style type="text/css">
        @media screen {
            div.divFooter {
                display: block;
            }
        }

        @media print {
            .printbutton {
                display: none !important;
            }
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="98%" align="center">
    <tr>
        <td class="top_bg">
            <div class="divFooter">
                <img src="https://im4change.in/images/logo1.jpg" height="59" border="0"
                     alt="Resource centre on India's rural distress" style="padding-top:14px;"/>
            </div>

        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td id="topspace">&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr id="topspace">
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-bottom:1px solid #000; padding-top:10px;" class="printbutton">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td width="100%">
            <h1 class="news_headlines" style="font-style:normal">
                <strong>Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame</strong></h1>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="100%" style="font-family:Arial, 'Segoe Script', 'Segoe UI', sans-serif, serif"><font size="3">
                <div align="justify">It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&rsquo;s social welfare policies. <br /><br />Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html">click here</a> to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.<br /><br />After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. </div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement therecommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&quot;.</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">It is further mentioned in the letter that &quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&quot;.<br />&nbsp; <br />From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf" title="Letter to PM Modi" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf" title="Letter to PM Modi">click here</a> to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.<br /><br />In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&nbsp; <br /><br /><iframe src="https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;t=COLUMN&amp;uiversion=2&amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;gco_legend=right&amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;att=true&amp;width=1000&amp;height=585" width="1000" height="600"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><em><strong>Source: </strong>State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17">click here</a> to access<br /></em></div><div align="justify"><div align="justify"><em>&nbsp;</em></div></div><div align="justify"><em>State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16">click here</a> to access<br /></em><br />From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &nbsp;<br /><br /><em>MGNREGA wage determination<br /></em><br />The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.<br /><br />The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. <br /><br />According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html">click here</a> to access).<br /><br />Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.<br /><br />However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.<br /><br /><em>Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA<br /></em><br />Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. <br /><br />The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please <a href="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx" title="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx">click here</a> to access).<br /><br />In an article written for The Hindu entitled <em>A drought of action</em>, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year's employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html">click here</a> to access). &nbsp;<br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify"><br /><strong><em>References<br /></em></strong><br />May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc" title="May Day press release" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc" title="May Day press release">click here</a> to access<br /><br />State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17">click here</a> to access<br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16">click here</a> to access<br /><br />MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please <a href="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx" title="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand's Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi's Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />A drought of action -Jean Dr&egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp; <br /><br />Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp; <br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre's Promises Don't Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please <a href="http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/" title="http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/">click here</a> to access <br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html">click here</a> to access <br />&nbsp;<br /></div><div align="justify">Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please <a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445" title="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445">click here</a> to access <br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&egrave;ze</strong> </div>               </font>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-top:1px solid #000; border-bottom:1px solid #000;padding-top:10px;">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>
</table></body>
</html>'

}
$maxBufferLength = (int) 8192
$file = '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php'
$line = (int) 853
$message = 'Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853'
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emit() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48
Cake\Http\Server::emit() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 141
[main] - ROOT/webroot/index.php, line 39

Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Code Context
            $response->getStatusCode(),

            ($reasonPhrase ? ' ' . $reasonPhrase : '')

        ));
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

	'status' => (int) 200,
	'contentType' => 'text/html',
	'headers' => [
		'Content-Type' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	],
	'file' => null,
	'fileRange' => [],
	'cookies' => object(Cake\Http\Cookie\CookieCollection) {},
	'cacheDirectives' => [],
	'body' => '<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
        "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67eff6639e849-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67eff6639e849-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
</span></span></code>
<span class="code-highlight"><code><span style="color: #000000">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;link&nbsp;rel="canonical"&nbsp;href="<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">Configure</span><span style="color: #007700">::</span><span style="color: #0000BB">read</span><span style="color: #007700">(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">'SITE_URL'</span><span style="color: #007700">);&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$urlPrefix</span><span style="color: #007700">;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">category</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">slug</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>/<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">seo_url</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>.html"/&gt;
</span></code></span>
<code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">meta&nbsp;http</span><span style="color: #007700">-</span><span style="color: #0000BB">equiv</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"Content-Type"&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">content</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"text/html;&nbsp;charset=utf-8"</span><span style="color: #007700">/&gt;
</span></span></code></pre><pre id="cakeErr67eff6639e849-context" class="cake-context" style="display: none;">$viewFile = &#039;/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp&#039;
$dataForView = [
	&#039;article_current&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 31178,
		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame&#039;,
		&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp;amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. 
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister&#039;s Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &amp;quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more 
than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement the
recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend 
an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of 
government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. 
You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big 
companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&amp;quot;.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
It is further mentioned in the letter that &amp;quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;iframe src=&quot;https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;amp;t=COLUMN&amp;amp;uiversion=2&amp;amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;amp;gco_legend=right&amp;amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;amp;att=true&amp;amp;width=1000&amp;amp;height=585&quot; width=&quot;1000&quot; height=&quot;600&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).
Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;MGNREGA wage determination&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In an article written for The Hindu entitled &lt;em&gt;A drought of action&lt;/em&gt;, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year&#039;s employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand&#039;s Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi&#039;s Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A drought of action -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre&#039;s Promises Don&#039;t Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp;amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze&lt;/strong&gt; 
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif&#039;,
		&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif&#039;,
		&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
		&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 4,
		&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;open-letter-from-nrega-workers-put-govt-to-shame-4679246&#039;,
		&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
		&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 4679246,
		&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;
	
	},
	&#039;articleid&#039; =&gt; (int) 31178,
	&#039;metaTitle&#039; =&gt; &#039;NEWS ALERTS | Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame&#039;,
	&#039;metaKeywords&#039; =&gt; &#039;drought,Employment,mgnrega wage rate,NREGS,NREGA,mgnrega,minimum wages,minimum wage,wage rate,wage payments,NREGA Wages&#039;,
	&#039;metaDesc&#039; =&gt; &#039;
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. 

Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp;amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister&#039;s Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &amp;quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement therecommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&amp;quot;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It is further mentioned in the letter that &amp;quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;iframe src=&quot;https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;amp;t=COLUMN&amp;amp;uiversion=2&amp;amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;amp;gco_legend=right&amp;amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;amp;att=true&amp;amp;width=1000&amp;amp;height=585&quot; width=&quot;1000&quot; height=&quot;600&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;MGNREGA wage determination&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot; title=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In an article written for The Hindu entitled &lt;em&gt;A drought of action&lt;/em&gt;, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year&#039;s employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot; title=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand&#039;s Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi&#039;s Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A drought of action -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre&#039;s Promises Don&#039;t Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot; title=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp;amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot; title=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;English&#039;,
	&#039;SITE_URL&#039; =&gt; &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;,
	&#039;site_title&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change&#039;,
	&#039;adminprix&#039; =&gt; &#039;admin&#039;
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 31178,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp;amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. 
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister&#039;s Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &amp;quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more 
than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement the
recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend 
an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of 
government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. 
You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big 
companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&amp;quot;.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
It is further mentioned in the letter that &amp;quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;iframe src=&quot;https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;amp;t=COLUMN&amp;amp;uiversion=2&amp;amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;amp;gco_legend=right&amp;amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;amp;att=true&amp;amp;width=1000&amp;amp;height=585&quot; width=&quot;1000&quot; height=&quot;600&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).
Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;MGNREGA wage determination&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In an article written for The Hindu entitled &lt;em&gt;A drought of action&lt;/em&gt;, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year&#039;s employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand&#039;s Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi&#039;s Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A drought of action -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre&#039;s Promises Don&#039;t Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp;amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze&lt;/strong&gt; 
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif&#039;,
	&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif&#039;,
	&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
	&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 4,
	&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;open-letter-from-nrega-workers-put-govt-to-shame-4679246&#039;,
	&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
	&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 4679246,
	&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
		(int) 0 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 1 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 2 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 3 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 4 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 5 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 6 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 7 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 8 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 9 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 10 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
		&#039;*&#039; =&gt; true,
		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; false
	],
	&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;

}
$articleid = (int) 31178
$metaTitle = &#039;NEWS ALERTS | Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame&#039;
$metaKeywords = &#039;drought,Employment,mgnrega wage rate,NREGS,NREGA,mgnrega,minimum wages,minimum wage,wage rate,wage payments,NREGA Wages&#039;
$metaDesc = &#039;
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. 

Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp;amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister&#039;s Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &amp;quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement therecommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&amp;quot;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It is further mentioned in the letter that &amp;quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;iframe src=&quot;https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;amp;t=COLUMN&amp;amp;uiversion=2&amp;amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;amp;gco_legend=right&amp;amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;amp;att=true&amp;amp;width=1000&amp;amp;height=585&quot; width=&quot;1000&quot; height=&quot;600&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;MGNREGA wage determination&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot; title=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In an article written for The Hindu entitled &lt;em&gt;A drought of action&lt;/em&gt;, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year&#039;s employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot; title=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand&#039;s Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi&#039;s Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A drought of action -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre&#039;s Promises Don&#039;t Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot; title=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp;amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot; title=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&#039;
$lang = &#039;English&#039;
$SITE_URL = &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;
$site_title = &#039;im4change&#039;
$adminprix = &#039;admin&#039;</pre><pre class="stack-trace">include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51</pre></div></pre>news-alerts-57/open-letter-from-nrega-workers-put-govt-to-shame-4679246.html"/>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
    <link href="https://im4change.in/css/control.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
          media="all"/>
    <title>NEWS ALERTS | Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame | Im4change.org</title>
    <meta name="description" content="
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&rsquo;s social welfare policies. 

Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up..."/>
    <script src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-1.10.2.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-migrate.min.js"></script>
    <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">

        $(document).ready(function () {
            var img = $("img")[0]; // Get my img elem
            var pic_real_width, pic_real_height;
            $("<img/>") // Make in memory copy of image to avoid css issues
                .attr("src", $(img).attr("src"))
                .load(function () {
                    pic_real_width = this.width;   // Note: $(this).width() will not
                    pic_real_height = this.height; // work for in memory images.
                });
        });
    </script>
    <style type="text/css">
        @media screen {
            div.divFooter {
                display: block;
            }
        }

        @media print {
            .printbutton {
                display: none !important;
            }
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="98%" align="center">
    <tr>
        <td class="top_bg">
            <div class="divFooter">
                <img src="https://im4change.in/images/logo1.jpg" height="59" border="0"
                     alt="Resource centre on India's rural distress" style="padding-top:14px;"/>
            </div>

        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td id="topspace">&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr id="topspace">
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-bottom:1px solid #000; padding-top:10px;" class="printbutton">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td width="100%">
            <h1 class="news_headlines" style="font-style:normal">
                <strong>Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame</strong></h1>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="100%" style="font-family:Arial, 'Segoe Script', 'Segoe UI', sans-serif, serif"><font size="3">
                <div align="justify">It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&rsquo;s social welfare policies. <br /><br />Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html">click here</a> to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.<br /><br />After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. </div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement therecommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&quot;.</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">It is further mentioned in the letter that &quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&quot;.<br />&nbsp; <br />From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf" title="Letter to PM Modi" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf" title="Letter to PM Modi">click here</a> to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.<br /><br />In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&nbsp; <br /><br /><iframe src="https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;t=COLUMN&amp;uiversion=2&amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;gco_legend=right&amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;att=true&amp;width=1000&amp;height=585" width="1000" height="600"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><em><strong>Source: </strong>State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17">click here</a> to access<br /></em></div><div align="justify"><div align="justify"><em>&nbsp;</em></div></div><div align="justify"><em>State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16">click here</a> to access<br /></em><br />From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &nbsp;<br /><br /><em>MGNREGA wage determination<br /></em><br />The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.<br /><br />The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. <br /><br />According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html">click here</a> to access).<br /><br />Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.<br /><br />However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.<br /><br /><em>Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA<br /></em><br />Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. <br /><br />The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please <a href="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx" title="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx">click here</a> to access).<br /><br />In an article written for The Hindu entitled <em>A drought of action</em>, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year's employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html">click here</a> to access). &nbsp;<br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify"><br /><strong><em>References<br /></em></strong><br />May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc" title="May Day press release" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc" title="May Day press release">click here</a> to access<br /><br />State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17">click here</a> to access<br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16">click here</a> to access<br /><br />MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please <a href="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx" title="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand's Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi's Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />A drought of action -Jean Dr&egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp; <br /><br />Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp; <br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre's Promises Don't Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please <a href="http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/" title="http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/">click here</a> to access <br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html">click here</a> to access <br />&nbsp;<br /></div><div align="justify">Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please <a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445" title="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445">click here</a> to access <br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&egrave;ze</strong> </div>               </font>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-top:1px solid #000; border-bottom:1px solid #000;padding-top:10px;">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>
</table></body>
</html>'

}
$reasonPhrase = 'OK'
header - [internal], line ??
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emitStatusLine() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emit() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 54
Cake\Http\Server::emit() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 141
[main] - ROOT/webroot/index.php, line 39

Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
Code Context
                    $value

                ), $first);

                $first = false;
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

	'status' => (int) 200,
	'contentType' => 'text/html',
	'headers' => [
		'Content-Type' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	],
	'file' => null,
	'fileRange' => [],
	'cookies' => object(Cake\Http\Cookie\CookieCollection) {},
	'cacheDirectives' => [],
	'body' => '<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
        "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67eff6639e849-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff6639e849-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67eff6639e849-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
</span></span></code>
<span class="code-highlight"><code><span style="color: #000000">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;link&nbsp;rel="canonical"&nbsp;href="<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">Configure</span><span style="color: #007700">::</span><span style="color: #0000BB">read</span><span style="color: #007700">(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">'SITE_URL'</span><span style="color: #007700">);&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$urlPrefix</span><span style="color: #007700">;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">category</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">slug</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>/<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">seo_url</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>.html"/&gt;
</span></code></span>
<code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">meta&nbsp;http</span><span style="color: #007700">-</span><span style="color: #0000BB">equiv</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"Content-Type"&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">content</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"text/html;&nbsp;charset=utf-8"</span><span style="color: #007700">/&gt;
</span></span></code></pre><pre id="cakeErr67eff6639e849-context" class="cake-context" style="display: none;">$viewFile = &#039;/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp&#039;
$dataForView = [
	&#039;article_current&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 31178,
		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame&#039;,
		&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp;amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. 
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister&#039;s Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &amp;quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more 
than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement the
recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend 
an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of 
government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. 
You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big 
companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&amp;quot;.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
It is further mentioned in the letter that &amp;quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;iframe src=&quot;https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;amp;t=COLUMN&amp;amp;uiversion=2&amp;amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;amp;gco_legend=right&amp;amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;amp;att=true&amp;amp;width=1000&amp;amp;height=585&quot; width=&quot;1000&quot; height=&quot;600&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).
Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;MGNREGA wage determination&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In an article written for The Hindu entitled &lt;em&gt;A drought of action&lt;/em&gt;, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year&#039;s employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand&#039;s Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi&#039;s Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A drought of action -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre&#039;s Promises Don&#039;t Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp;amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze&lt;/strong&gt; 
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif&#039;,
		&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif&#039;,
		&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
		&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 4,
		&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;open-letter-from-nrega-workers-put-govt-to-shame-4679246&#039;,
		&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
		&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 4679246,
		&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;
	
	},
	&#039;articleid&#039; =&gt; (int) 31178,
	&#039;metaTitle&#039; =&gt; &#039;NEWS ALERTS | Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame&#039;,
	&#039;metaKeywords&#039; =&gt; &#039;drought,Employment,mgnrega wage rate,NREGS,NREGA,mgnrega,minimum wages,minimum wage,wage rate,wage payments,NREGA Wages&#039;,
	&#039;metaDesc&#039; =&gt; &#039;
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. 

Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp;amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister&#039;s Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &amp;quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement therecommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&amp;quot;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It is further mentioned in the letter that &amp;quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;iframe src=&quot;https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;amp;t=COLUMN&amp;amp;uiversion=2&amp;amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;amp;gco_legend=right&amp;amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;amp;att=true&amp;amp;width=1000&amp;amp;height=585&quot; width=&quot;1000&quot; height=&quot;600&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;MGNREGA wage determination&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot; title=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In an article written for The Hindu entitled &lt;em&gt;A drought of action&lt;/em&gt;, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year&#039;s employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot; title=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand&#039;s Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi&#039;s Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A drought of action -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre&#039;s Promises Don&#039;t Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot; title=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp;amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot; title=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;English&#039;,
	&#039;SITE_URL&#039; =&gt; &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;,
	&#039;site_title&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change&#039;,
	&#039;adminprix&#039; =&gt; &#039;admin&#039;
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 31178,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp;amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. 
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister&#039;s Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &amp;quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more 
than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement the
recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend 
an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of 
government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. 
You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big 
companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&amp;quot;.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
It is further mentioned in the letter that &amp;quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;iframe src=&quot;https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;amp;t=COLUMN&amp;amp;uiversion=2&amp;amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;amp;gco_legend=right&amp;amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;amp;att=true&amp;amp;width=1000&amp;amp;height=585&quot; width=&quot;1000&quot; height=&quot;600&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).
Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;MGNREGA wage determination&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In an article written for The Hindu entitled &lt;em&gt;A drought of action&lt;/em&gt;, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year&#039;s employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand&#039;s Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi&#039;s Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A drought of action -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre&#039;s Promises Don&#039;t Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp;amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze&lt;/strong&gt; 
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif&#039;,
	&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif&#039;,
	&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
	&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 4,
	&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;open-letter-from-nrega-workers-put-govt-to-shame-4679246&#039;,
	&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
	&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 4679246,
	&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
		(int) 0 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 1 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 2 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 3 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 4 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 5 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 6 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 7 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 8 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 9 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 10 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
		&#039;*&#039; =&gt; true,
		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; false
	],
	&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;

}
$articleid = (int) 31178
$metaTitle = &#039;NEWS ALERTS | Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame&#039;
$metaKeywords = &#039;drought,Employment,mgnrega wage rate,NREGS,NREGA,mgnrega,minimum wages,minimum wage,wage rate,wage payments,NREGA Wages&#039;
$metaDesc = &#039;
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. 

Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&amp;rsquo;s social welfare policies. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp;amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister&#039;s Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &amp;quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement therecommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&amp;quot;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;It is further mentioned in the letter that &amp;quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Letter to PM Modi&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;iframe src=&quot;https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;amp;t=COLUMN&amp;amp;uiversion=2&amp;amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;amp;gco_legend=right&amp;amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;amp;att=true&amp;amp;width=1000&amp;amp;height=585&quot; width=&quot;1000&quot; height=&quot;600&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year&#039;s wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;MGNREGA wage determination&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot; title=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In an article written for The Hindu entitled &lt;em&gt;A drought of action&lt;/em&gt;, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year&#039;s employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc&quot; title=&quot;May Day press release&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2016-17&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf&quot; title=&quot;Wage rate in 2015-16&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot; title=&quot;http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand&#039;s Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi&#039;s Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A drought of action -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre&#039;s Promises Don&#039;t Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot; title=&quot;http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp;amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot; title=&quot;http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&#039;
$lang = &#039;English&#039;
$SITE_URL = &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;
$site_title = &#039;im4change&#039;
$adminprix = &#039;admin&#039;</pre><pre class="stack-trace">include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51</pre></div></pre>news-alerts-57/open-letter-from-nrega-workers-put-govt-to-shame-4679246.html"/>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
    <link href="https://im4change.in/css/control.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
          media="all"/>
    <title>NEWS ALERTS | Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame | Im4change.org</title>
    <meta name="description" content="
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&rsquo;s social welfare policies. 

Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up..."/>
    <script src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-1.10.2.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-migrate.min.js"></script>
    <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">

        $(document).ready(function () {
            var img = $("img")[0]; // Get my img elem
            var pic_real_width, pic_real_height;
            $("<img/>") // Make in memory copy of image to avoid css issues
                .attr("src", $(img).attr("src"))
                .load(function () {
                    pic_real_width = this.width;   // Note: $(this).width() will not
                    pic_real_height = this.height; // work for in memory images.
                });
        });
    </script>
    <style type="text/css">
        @media screen {
            div.divFooter {
                display: block;
            }
        }

        @media print {
            .printbutton {
                display: none !important;
            }
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="98%" align="center">
    <tr>
        <td class="top_bg">
            <div class="divFooter">
                <img src="https://im4change.in/images/logo1.jpg" height="59" border="0"
                     alt="Resource centre on India's rural distress" style="padding-top:14px;"/>
            </div>

        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td id="topspace">&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr id="topspace">
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-bottom:1px solid #000; padding-top:10px;" class="printbutton">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td width="100%">
            <h1 class="news_headlines" style="font-style:normal">
                <strong>Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame</strong></h1>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="100%" style="font-family:Arial, 'Segoe Script', 'Segoe UI', sans-serif, serif"><font size="3">
                <div align="justify">It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&rsquo;s social welfare policies. <br /><br />Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html">click here</a> to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.<br /><br />After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. </div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement therecommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&quot;.</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">It is further mentioned in the letter that &quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&quot;.<br />&nbsp; <br />From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf" title="Letter to PM Modi" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf" title="Letter to PM Modi">click here</a> to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.<br /><br />In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&nbsp; <br /><br /><iframe src="https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;t=COLUMN&amp;uiversion=2&amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;gco_legend=right&amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;att=true&amp;width=1000&amp;height=585" width="1000" height="600"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><em><strong>Source: </strong>State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17">click here</a> to access<br /></em></div><div align="justify"><div align="justify"><em>&nbsp;</em></div></div><div align="justify"><em>State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16">click here</a> to access<br /></em><br />From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &nbsp;<br /><br /><em>MGNREGA wage determination<br /></em><br />The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.<br /><br />The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. <br /><br />According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html">click here</a> to access).<br /><br />Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.<br /><br />However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.<br /><br /><em>Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA<br /></em><br />Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. <br /><br />The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please <a href="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx" title="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx">click here</a> to access).<br /><br />In an article written for The Hindu entitled <em>A drought of action</em>, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year's employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html">click here</a> to access). &nbsp;<br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify"><br /><strong><em>References<br /></em></strong><br />May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc" title="May Day press release" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc" title="May Day press release">click here</a> to access<br /><br />State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17">click here</a> to access<br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16">click here</a> to access<br /><br />MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please <a href="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx" title="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand's Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi's Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />A drought of action -Jean Dr&egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp; <br /><br />Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp; <br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre's Promises Don't Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please <a href="http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/" title="http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/">click here</a> to access <br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html">click here</a> to access <br />&nbsp;<br /></div><div align="justify">Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please <a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445" title="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445">click here</a> to access <br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&egrave;ze</strong> </div>               </font>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-top:1px solid #000; border-bottom:1px solid #000;padding-top:10px;">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>
</table></body>
</html>'

}
$cookies = []
$values = [
	(int) 0 => 'text/html; charset=UTF-8'
]
$name = 'Content-Type'
$first = true
$value = 'text/html; charset=UTF-8'
header - [internal], line ??
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emitHeaders() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emit() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 55
Cake\Http\Server::emit() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 141
[main] - ROOT/webroot/index.php, line 39

<head>

    <link rel="canonical" href="<?php echo Configure::read('SITE_URL'); ?><?php echo $urlPrefix;?><?php echo $article_current->category->slug; ?>/<?php echo $article_current->seo_url; ?>.html"/>

    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>

$viewFile = '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp'
$dataForView = [
	'article_current' => object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		'id' => (int) 31178,
		'title' => 'Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame',
		'subheading' => '',
		'description' => '<div align="justify">
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&rsquo;s social welfare policies. <br />
<br />
Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please <a href="../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html">click here</a> to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.<br />
<br />
After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. 
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more 
than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement the
recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend 
an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of 
government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. 
You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big 
companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&quot;.
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
It is further mentioned in the letter that &quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&quot;.<br />
&nbsp; <br />
From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf" title="Letter to PM Modi">click here</a> to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.<br />
<br />
In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&nbsp; <br />
<br />
<iframe src="https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;t=COLUMN&amp;uiversion=2&amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;gco_legend=right&amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;att=true&amp;width=1000&amp;height=585" width="1000" height="600"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<em><strong>Source: </strong>State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17">click here</a> to access<br />
</em>
</div>
<div align="justify">
<div align="justify">
<em>
&nbsp;
</em>
</div>
</div>
<div align="justify">
<em>
State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16">click here</a> to access<br />
</em><br />
From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).
Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &nbsp;<br />
<br />
<em>MGNREGA wage determination<br />
</em><br />
The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.<br />
<br />
The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. <br />
<br />
According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please <a href="../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html">click here</a> to access).<br />
<br />
Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.<br />
<br />
However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.<br />
<br />
<em>
Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA<br />
</em><br />
Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. <br />
<br />
The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please <a href="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx">click here</a> to access).<br />
<br />
In an article written for The Hindu entitled <em>A drought of action</em>, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year's employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please <a href="../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html">click here</a> to access). &nbsp;<br />
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<strong><em>References<br />
</em></strong><br />
May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc" title="May Day press release">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17">click here</a> to access<br />
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please <a href="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx">click here</a> to access<br />
&nbsp;<br />
May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand's Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi's Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
A drought of action -Jean Dr&egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp; <br />
<br />
Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp; <br />
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre's Promises Don't Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please <a href="http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/">click here</a> to access <br />
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html">click here</a> to access <br />
&nbsp;
<br />
</div>
<div align="justify">
Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please <a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445">click here</a> to access <br />
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
<strong>Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&egrave;ze</strong> 
</div>',
		'credit_writer' => '',
		'article_img' => 'im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif',
		'article_img_thumb' => 'im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif',
		'status' => (int) 1,
		'show_on_home' => (int) 1,
		'lang' => 'EN',
		'category_id' => (int) 4,
		'tag_keyword' => '',
		'seo_url' => 'open-letter-from-nrega-workers-put-govt-to-shame-4679246',
		'meta_title' => null,
		'meta_keywords' => null,
		'meta_description' => null,
		'noindex' => (int) 0,
		'publish_date' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		'most_visit_section_id' => null,
		'article_big_img' => null,
		'liveid' => (int) 4679246,
		'created' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'modified' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'edate' => '',
		'tags' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		'category' => object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		'[new]' => false,
		'[accessible]' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		'[dirty]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[original]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[virtual]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[hasErrors]' => false,
		'[errors]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[invalid]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[repository]' => 'Articles'
	
	},
	'articleid' => (int) 31178,
	'metaTitle' => 'NEWS ALERTS | Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame',
	'metaKeywords' => 'drought,Employment,mgnrega wage rate,NREGS,NREGA,mgnrega,minimum wages,minimum wage,wage rate,wage payments,NREGA Wages',
	'metaDesc' => '
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&rsquo;s social welfare policies. 

Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up...',
	'disp' => '<div align="justify">It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&rsquo;s social welfare policies. <br /><br />Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html">click here</a> to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.<br /><br />After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. </div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement therecommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&quot;.</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">It is further mentioned in the letter that &quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&quot;.<br />&nbsp; <br />From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf" title="Letter to PM Modi" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf" title="Letter to PM Modi">click here</a> to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.<br /><br />In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&nbsp; <br /><br /><iframe src="https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;t=COLUMN&amp;uiversion=2&amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;gco_legend=right&amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;att=true&amp;width=1000&amp;height=585" width="1000" height="600"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><em><strong>Source: </strong>State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17">click here</a> to access<br /></em></div><div align="justify"><div align="justify"><em>&nbsp;</em></div></div><div align="justify"><em>State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16">click here</a> to access<br /></em><br />From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &nbsp;<br /><br /><em>MGNREGA wage determination<br /></em><br />The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.<br /><br />The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. <br /><br />According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html">click here</a> to access).<br /><br />Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.<br /><br />However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.<br /><br /><em>Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA<br /></em><br />Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. <br /><br />The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please <a href="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx" title="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx">click here</a> to access).<br /><br />In an article written for The Hindu entitled <em>A drought of action</em>, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year's employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html">click here</a> to access). &nbsp;<br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify"><br /><strong><em>References<br /></em></strong><br />May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc" title="May Day press release" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc" title="May Day press release">click here</a> to access<br /><br />State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17">click here</a> to access<br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16">click here</a> to access<br /><br />MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please <a href="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx" title="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand's Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi's Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />A drought of action -Jean Dr&egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp; <br /><br />Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp; <br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre's Promises Don't Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please <a href="http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/" title="http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/">click here</a> to access <br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html">click here</a> to access <br />&nbsp;<br /></div><div align="justify">Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please <a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445" title="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445">click here</a> to access <br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&egrave;ze</strong> </div>',
	'lang' => 'English',
	'SITE_URL' => 'https://im4change.in/',
	'site_title' => 'im4change',
	'adminprix' => 'admin'
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	'id' => (int) 31178,
	'title' => 'Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame',
	'subheading' => '',
	'description' => '<div align="justify">
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&rsquo;s social welfare policies. <br />
<br />
Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please <a href="../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html">click here</a> to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.<br />
<br />
After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. 
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more 
than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement the
recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend 
an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of 
government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. 
You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big 
companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&quot;.
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
It is further mentioned in the letter that &quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&quot;.<br />
&nbsp; <br />
From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf" title="Letter to PM Modi">click here</a> to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.<br />
<br />
In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&nbsp; <br />
<br />
<iframe src="https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;t=COLUMN&amp;uiversion=2&amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;gco_legend=right&amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;att=true&amp;width=1000&amp;height=585" width="1000" height="600"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<em><strong>Source: </strong>State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17">click here</a> to access<br />
</em>
</div>
<div align="justify">
<div align="justify">
<em>
&nbsp;
</em>
</div>
</div>
<div align="justify">
<em>
State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16">click here</a> to access<br />
</em><br />
From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).
Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &nbsp;<br />
<br />
<em>MGNREGA wage determination<br />
</em><br />
The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.<br />
<br />
The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. <br />
<br />
According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please <a href="../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html">click here</a> to access).<br />
<br />
Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.<br />
<br />
However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.<br />
<br />
<em>
Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA<br />
</em><br />
Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. <br />
<br />
The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please <a href="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx">click here</a> to access).<br />
<br />
In an article written for The Hindu entitled <em>A drought of action</em>, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year's employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please <a href="../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html">click here</a> to access). &nbsp;<br />
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
<br />
<strong><em>References<br />
</em></strong><br />
May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc" title="May Day press release">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17">click here</a> to access<br />
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please <a href="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx">click here</a> to access<br />
&nbsp;<br />
May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand's Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi's Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
A drought of action -Jean Dr&egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp; <br />
<br />
Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp; <br />
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre's Promises Don't Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please <a href="http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/">click here</a> to access <br />
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html">click here</a> to access <br />
&nbsp;
<br />
</div>
<div align="justify">
Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html">click here</a> to access <br />
<br />
Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please <a href="../latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please <a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445">click here</a> to access <br />
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
&nbsp;
</div>
<div align="justify">
<strong>Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&egrave;ze</strong> 
</div>',
	'credit_writer' => '',
	'article_img' => 'im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif',
	'article_img_thumb' => 'im4change_36Jaan_NREGA.gif',
	'status' => (int) 1,
	'show_on_home' => (int) 1,
	'lang' => 'EN',
	'category_id' => (int) 4,
	'tag_keyword' => '',
	'seo_url' => 'open-letter-from-nrega-workers-put-govt-to-shame-4679246',
	'meta_title' => null,
	'meta_keywords' => null,
	'meta_description' => null,
	'noindex' => (int) 0,
	'publish_date' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	'most_visit_section_id' => null,
	'article_big_img' => null,
	'liveid' => (int) 4679246,
	'created' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	'modified' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	'edate' => '',
	'tags' => [
		(int) 0 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 1 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 2 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 3 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 4 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 5 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 6 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 7 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 8 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 9 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 10 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	'category' => object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	'[new]' => false,
	'[accessible]' => [
		'*' => true,
		'id' => false
	],
	'[dirty]' => [],
	'[original]' => [],
	'[virtual]' => [],
	'[hasErrors]' => false,
	'[errors]' => [],
	'[invalid]' => [],
	'[repository]' => 'Articles'

}
$articleid = (int) 31178
$metaTitle = 'NEWS ALERTS | Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame'
$metaKeywords = 'drought,Employment,mgnrega wage rate,NREGS,NREGA,mgnrega,minimum wages,minimum wage,wage rate,wage payments,NREGA Wages'
$metaDesc = '
It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&rsquo;s social welfare policies. 

Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up...'
$disp = '<div align="justify">It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre&rsquo;s social welfare policies. <br /><br />Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition &amp; drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html">click here</a> to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate.<br /><br />After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state. </div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that &quot;(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement therecommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources&quot;.</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">It is further mentioned in the letter that &quot;(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy&quot;.<br />&nbsp; <br />From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf" title="Letter to PM Modi" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Letter%20to%20PM%20Modi%201%20May%202016.pdf" title="Letter to PM Modi">click here</a> to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016.<br /><br />In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.&nbsp; <br /><br /><iframe src="https://www.google.com/fusiontables/embedviz?containerId=googft-gviz-canvas&amp;q=select+col0%2C+col1%2C+col2+from+16z1y-_ryRhjC_Q6Bi78bXDFPADS66Hnl_ZlvufJp+order+by+col0+asc+limit+36&amp;viz=GVIZ&amp;t=COLUMN&amp;uiversion=2&amp;gco_forceIFrame=true&amp;gco_hasLabelsColumn=true&amp;gco_vAxes=%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Wage+rate+(Rs.+per+day)%22%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%2C+%22gridlines%22%3A%7B%22count%22%3A%22-1%22%7D%7D%2C%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3A%7B%22max%22%3Anull%2C+%22min%22%3Anull%7D%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22logScale%22%3Afalse%7D%5D&amp;gco_useFirstColumnAsDomain=true&amp;gco_legacyScatterChartLabels=true&amp;gco_isStacked=false&amp;gco_booleanRole=certainty&amp;gco_hAxis=%7B%22useFormatFromData%22%3Atrue%2C+%22minValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22maxValue%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindow%22%3Anull%2C+%22viewWindowMode%22%3Anull%2C+%22title%22%3A%22States%2F+UTs%22%2C+%22titleTextStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D%2C+%22slantedTextAngle%22%3A90%2C+%22slantedText%22%3Atrue%2C+%22textStyle%22%3A%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2210%22%7D%7D&amp;gco_legend=right&amp;gco_title=State-wise+wage+rate+for+unskilled+manual+workers+(Rs.+per+day)+in+2015-16+and+2016-17&amp;gco_titleTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23000%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A%2214%22%2C+%22bold%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;gco_legendTextStyle=%7B%22color%22%3A%22%23222%22%2C+%22fontSize%22%3A12%2C+%22italic%22%3Atrue%7D&amp;gco_backgroundColor=%7B%22fill%22%3A%22%23ffffff%22%7D&amp;gco_domainAxis=%7B%22direction%22%3A1%7D&amp;gco_focusTarget=category&amp;att=true&amp;width=1000&amp;height=585" width="1000" height="600"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><em><strong>Source: </strong>State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17">click here</a> to access<br /></em></div><div align="justify"><div align="justify"><em>&nbsp;</em></div></div><div align="justify"><em>State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20%28Rs.%20per%20day%29%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16">click here</a> to access<br /></em><br />From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart). &nbsp;<br /><br /><em>MGNREGA wage determination<br /></em><br />The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate.<br /><br />The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. <br /><br />According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html">click here</a> to access).<br /><br />Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states.<br /><br />However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments.<br /><br /><em>Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA<br /></em><br />Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. <br /><br />The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please <a href="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx" title="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx">click here</a> to access).<br /><br />In an article written for The Hindu entitled <em>A drought of action</em>, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Dr&egrave;ze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year's employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html">click here</a> to access). &nbsp;<br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify"><br /><strong><em>References<br /></em></strong><br />May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc" title="May Day press release" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/May%20Day%20Press%20Release%202016.doc" title="May Day press release">click here</a> to access<br /><br />State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202016-17.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2016-17">click here</a> to access<br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State-wise%20wage%20rate%20for%20unskilled%20manual%20workers%20(Rs.%20per%20day)%20in%202015-16.pdf" title="Wage rate in 2015-16">click here</a> to access<br /><br />MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please <a href="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx" title="http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/all_lvl_details_dashboard_new.aspx">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/may-day-protest-why-mgnrega-workers-in-jharkhand-are-returning-rs-5-to-pm-modi-4679244.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-workers-protest-low-wages-by-returning-five-rupees-to-pm-modi-4679245.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand's Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi's Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/rs-5-in-a-letter-jharkhand039s-unpaid-workers-return-pm-modi039s-wage-hike-alok-pandey-and-haribansh-sharma-4679243.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />A drought of action -Jean Dr&egrave;ze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/a-drought-of-action-jean-drze-4679228.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/activists-academics-write-open-letter-to-pm-modi-on-the-drought-4679222.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp; <br /><br />Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/withdrawing-the-lifeline-jayati-ghosh-4679177.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/to-tackle-drought-woes-centre-to-release-55-mgnrega-funds-by-june-shalini-nair-4679154.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp; <br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre's Promises Don't Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/nrega-vs-drought-why-the-centre039s-promises-don039t-add-up-sreenivasan-jain-4679241.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/as-india-reels-from-drought-govt-slammed-for-poor-policies-nirmala-george-4679157.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/mnrega-labour-budget-cut-by-220-million-person-days-nitin-sethi-4679077.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please <a href="http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/" title="http://www.indiaresists.com/nda-government-starves-nrega-funds-second-year-row/">click here</a> to access <br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/revised-mgnrega-wages-put-states-in-a-quandary-4679247.html">click here</a> to access <br />&nbsp;<br /></div><div align="justify">Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey &amp; Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/starving-mgnrega-nikhil-dey-aruna-roy-4678978.html">click here</a> to access <br /><br />Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html" title="https://im4change.in/latest-news-updates/government-increases-wages-for-nregs-by-about-6-no-revision-in-pay-calculation-formula-ruchika-chitravanshi-4678932.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please <a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445" title="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mgnrega-wages-should-not-be-less-than-minimum-wage-of-a-state-expert-panel-45445">click here</a> to access <br /></div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify">&nbsp;</div><div align="justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: Jean Dr&egrave;ze</strong> </div>'
$lang = 'English'
$SITE_URL = 'https://im4change.in/'
$site_title = 'im4change'
$adminprix = 'admin'

include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51

Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame

It seems that not only civil society activists, but even the poor and marginalized themselves are not happy with the Centre’s social welfare policies. Following the recent protest by 150 eminent persons regarding failure of the NDA Government to take-up urgent measures for employment generation and ensuring food, nutrition & drinking water security in the backdrop of severe drought in roughly 1/3rd of Indian districts (please click here to access), MGNREGA workers from Jharkhand on 1st May, 2016 have written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India to protest against the Rs. 5 hike in NREGS wage rate. After the Rs. 5 rise, the wage rate in Jharkhand has increased marginally from Rs. 162 per day to Rs. 167 per day. Therefore, on 1st May this year, NREGA workers of Jharkhand under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh in their open letter to the PM have expressed dissatisfaction over the revised wage rate, which comes far below the existing minimum wage rate of Rs. 212 per day in the state.   Along with every letter written by a NREGA worker, Rs. 5 was enclosed to be sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in Delhi. The protest took place in Manika Block of Latehar District (Jharkhand) on 1st May, 2016.   In the open letter to PM Modi, which is written in a sarcastic style, it has been said that "(w)e feel that you need the extra five rupees more than we do, since your government has so many expenses. To implement therecommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, you will have to spend an additional Rs 1 lakh crore at least on salaries and pensions of government employees. Defence expenditure is about Rs 2.5 lakh crore. You must also be spending a lot of money on tax concessions for big companies, aside from giving them cheap land and other resources".   It is further mentioned in the letter that "(c)onsidering all this, we NREGA workers have made a collective decision to give up our extra wages for a day and return the extra five rupees to you. We hope that this will help you to keep your corporate friends and government employees happy".   From the open letter to the PM, one comes to know that in 17 states the increase was even less. In the state of Odisha, there was no hike in the MGNREGA wage rate this year as compared to last year. Please click here to access the open letter to PM Modi, dated 1 May, 2016. In the following chart, the Inclusive Media for Change team has provided a comparison between the wage rates fixed for unskilled manual labour in various states/ UTs during 2015-16 and 2016-17.  Source: State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please click here to access   State/UT-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please click here to access From the chart, we come to know that for 9 states/ UTs, the rate of increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. 3.09 percent). Also, for 4 states/ UTs, the increase in wage rate (over previous year's wage rate) was lesser than that of Jharkhand (i.e. hike of Rs. 5).   During April 2016, the Centre raised the MGNREGA wage rates in West Bengal and Assam by Rs 2 and Rs 3, respectively (as compared to previous year).Among the states/UTs, Haryana has the highest NREGS wage rate of Rs. 259 per day in 2016-17, as per the official notification (see chart).   MGNREGA wage determination The High-level Committee (HLC) set up under development economist S. Mahendra Dev in 2014 recommended that the wages paid to unskilled agricultural labourers under the MGNREGA should be the minimum wage fixed by the respective state or the current wage as per the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL), whichever is higher. However, in most states one finds that wage rate for unskilled manual workers stands below the minimum wage rate. The HLC also recommended linking the wages to the Consumer Price Index, Rural (CPI-R), for protecting MGNREGA wages against inflation. According to a report by The Economic Times, dated 23 March, 2016, the Government has calculated the rise in MGNREGA wage rates across the states in 2016-17 on the basis of CPI-AL, instead of the HLC recommended CPI-R (please click here to access). Experts feel that the revision of wage calculation method will make the job guarantee scheme more attractive for rural poor. It could be observed in many states that the wages paid under MGNREGS fall below the minimum wages for agriculture labour as notified by the state governments. It must be noted here that minimum wages vary across states. However, some experts have argued that instead of focusing on wage rates, the Government must ensure timely delivery of wage payments. Shrinking budgetary allocation for MGNREGA Although in a drought year like this, everyone expects that more employment will be generated under the MGNREGA. However, the Centre has not allocated enough funds this year so as to sustain the level of employment generated in the last financial year, which was 235.3 crore person-days, as per official data. The government had approved a labour budget of 239.1 crore person-days in 2015-16, which reduced to 217 crore person-days in 2016-17. This is expected to adversely impact employment this financial year (please click here to access). In an article written for The Hindu entitled A drought of action, dated 27 April, 2016, Jean Drèze has explained that why the budgetary allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore under MGNREGA in 2016-17 is inadequate. He says that the Central Government needs to spend at least Rs. 50,000 crore if it wants to maintain last year's employment level under the scheme. On top of it, the Government needs to spend Rs. 10,000 crore extra if the arrears are to be cleared (please click here to access).     References May Day Press Release from Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, please click here to access State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2016-17, please click here to access   State-wise wage rate for unskilled manual workers (Rs. per day) in 2015-16, please click here to access MGNREGA at a glance (dashboard), Ministry of Rural Development, please click here to access   May Day protest: Why MGNREGA workers in Jharkhand are returning Rs 5 to PM Modi, The Indian Express, 1 May, 2016, please click here to access NREGA Workers Protest Low Wages by Returning Five Rupees to PM Modi, TheWire.in, 1 May, 2016, please click here to access Rs 5 in a letter: Jharkhand's Unpaid Workers Return PM Modi's Wage Hike -Alok Pandey and Haribansh Sharma, NDTV, 2 May, 2016, please click here to access A drought of action -Jean Drèze, The Hindu, 27 April, 2016, please click here to access Activists, Academics Write Open Letter to PM Modi on the Drought, TheWire.in, 26 April, 2016, please click here to access  Withdrawing the lifeline -Jayati Ghosh, The Indian Express, 21 April, 2016, please click here to access To tackle drought woes, Centre to release 55% MGNREGA funds by June -Shalini Nair, The Indian Express, 19 April, 2016, please click here to access    NREGA Vs Drought: Why The Centre's Promises Don't Add Up -Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV, 17 April, 2016, please click here to access As India reels from drought, govt slammed for poor policies -Nirmala George, Livemint.com, 15 April, 2016, please click here to access MNREGA labour budget cut by 220 million person-days -Nitin Sethi, Business Standard, 9 April, 2016, please click here to access NDA Government starves NREGA of funds for the second year in a row -Steering Committee of Right to Food Campaign, 9 April, 2016, please click here to access   Revised MGNREGA wages put States in a quandary, PTI/ The Indian Express, 3 April, 2016, please click here to access   Starving MGNREGA -Nikhil Dey & Aruna Roy, The Indian Express, 30 March, 2016, please click here to access Government increases wages for NREGS by about 6%, no revision in pay calculation formula -Ruchika Chitravanshi, The Economic Times, 23 March, 2016, please click here to access MGNREGA wages should not be less than minimum wage of a state: expert panel -Jitendra, Down to Earth, 24 July, 2014, please click here to access     Image Courtesy: Jean Drèze