Recipients-workers in the Mahatma Gandhi employment guarantee warranty system, who are engaged in the creation of a clay volume. File | Photo Credit: Moorthy Gorthy G
MGNGA wages cannot be determined by any vagaries of the government, Congress said on Wednesday (May 21, 2025) and repeated its demand for the rural employment warranty scheme that it increases to 400 GBP.
Congress Secretary General Jairam Ramesh responded to the latest report of Libtech India scientists, which pointed out that only 7% of households gain a promised 100 days of work under the Mahatma Gandhi (MGNGA) employment law.
Also read: Explained | Financing and demand for MGNGA
Mr. Ramesh said that the Libtech report documents several key gaps in the implementation of MGNGA, including the mismatch between the scheme coverage and the actual delivery. The number of households registered in the system increased between the financial years 2023-2024 and 2024-25 by 8.6%, although the average employment days per household dropped by 7.1%, the average working days per person dropped by 4.3%and the number of households that completed 100 days of work decreased by 11.9%.
Budget deficiency
One of the earliest hints of the “heartless attitude and myopia” of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was his mockery Mgnrega on the floor of Parliament in 2015, Ramesh said, noting that the budget of the scheme of 2024-25 is widely considered to be inadequate. People’s action for employment guarantee (p allocation 2024-25 represents only 0.26% of GDP.
During the Congress Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, MGNGA staff from all over the country, they raised several problems with the program, including low wages, during Jan Sunwai, which took place in Jharkhand, on February 14, 2024.
“MGNGA wages cannot be determined by any vagaries of the government. A permanent committee must be established to evaluate the need for changes in wage rate,” Congress’s leader said, remarking that wages have stagnated for decades. “Increasing the wage of MGNGA – as expected in the NYAY Congress Path for Lok Sabha 2024 – assumes renewed importance. MGNGA wage must increase to reach 400 GBP per day,” he added.
Published – May 21, 2025 22:15
