Centre tells states not to hike NREG wages on their own

Alarmed over the trend among state governments of “unreasonably” raising the minimum wages since the UPA Government’s flagship...

Alarmed over the trend among state governments of “unreasonably” raising the minimum wages since the UPA Government’s flagship rural job guarantee scheme (NREG) was launched, the Centre has cautioned states against unilaterally increasing minimum wages without consulting it.

UP has twice raised its minimum wage unilaterally from less than Rs 60 to Rs 80 per day and then subsequently to Rs 100 per day in less than a year. Similar upward revisions have also taken place in Rajasthan, MP and Gujarat since the launch of NREG.

According to official sources in a meeting of top officials in-charge of NREG in all the states, Union Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh told the states not to create a situation where the Centre would be forced to invoke Section 6(1) of the NREG Act, which allows the Centre to specify minimum wages for all the states.

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In fact, citing the financial implication for the Central Government, Prasad is learnt to have asked states to “consult” the Centre before considering any proposal to revise the minimum wages in their states. “States should follow the due process while revising their minimum wages,” Prasad told the state governments.

The Centre has also asked the states to refrain from announcing “differential” wages, which are generally higher than the prevailing wage rates in respective states, exclusively applicable to the workers under the NREG.

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