Uttarakhand has knocked at the central government to increase the wage rates under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which provides 100 days of employment in a year in rural areas. According to Rural Development Minister Ganesh Joshi, a letter has been sent to the Center in this regard. Citing the difficult geographical conditions of the state, it has been requested to increase the wages here to the national average. The national average of wages in MNREGA is Rs 289 per day. Currently, the wage rate in MNREGA in the state is Rs 237 per day.
MGNREGA gave a big support in stopping migration
Like other states, MNREGA has given a big support in view of stopping migration from rural areas of Uttarakhand. During the Corona period, a large number of migrants who returned to the villages also showed interest in MNREGA. If we look at the picture of the state, job cards have been issued to 10.37 lakh families under MNREGA, out of which 7.94 lakh are active job card holder families. Last year, 139.48 lakh man days were created in MNREGA. Amidst all this, the demand for increasing wages in MNREGA was constantly rising in view of the rising inflation. It was expected that there would be an increase this year. Although, there was an increase in April, but it was nominal. The daily wage rate was increased by seven rupees and it reached only Rs 237. If we look at the category of Himalayan states, the MNREGA rate in Uttarakhand is quite low. According to Rural Development Minister Ganesh Joshi, the right to increase or decrease the wage rate in MNREGA lies with the Central Government. In view of this, the Central Government has been requested to increase the wages in MNREGA.
MNREGA wages in Himalayan states
State, Rates (Rs per day)
Manipur, 272
Mizoram, 266
Sikkim, 249 and 374
Ladakh, 259
Meghalaya, 254
Assam, 249
Himachal, 236 and 259
Tripura, 242
Uttarakhand 237
Arunachal Pradesh, 234
Nagaland, 234
