MGNREGA wages 2024-25: Haryana tops rate chart; Goa gets biggest hike

The Centre has notified new wage rates for unskilled manual workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for 2024-2025. The new rates will become effective from April 1, 2024.

With the current revision, the highest rate of MGNREGA wages has been fixed for Haryana at Rs 374 per day, while the lowest, of Rs 234 per day, has been fixed for Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

The wage rate in three panchayats of Sikkim — Gnathang, Lachung, and Lachen — has also been fixed at Rs 374 a day.

The hikes range between 4 and 10 per cent for different states.

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Big gainers

In terms of hike, Goa has got the maximum of 10.56 per cent over the current wage rate, while Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have got the lowest of 3.04 per cent each.

Three states — Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana — have also got over 10 per cent hikes in the MGNREGA wages.

In Karnataka, the new wage rate will be Rs 349 per day, 10.44 per cent higher than the existing Rs 316 per day. Workers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will get Rs 300 per day, up by 10.29 per cent from Rs 272 per day.

Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have also got a near-10 per cent hike — from Rs 221 to Rs 243 per day.

Lowest on the list

For Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the hike is a mere Rs 7, from the existing Rs 230 to Rs 237 per day.

Though Haryana tops in terms of wage rate, the increase is only around four per cent. Seven other states — Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Kerala, and Lakshadweep — have also seen a hike below 5 per cent.

The wage rate in West Bengal has been increased to Rs 250 (increase of Rs 13), in Tamil Nadu to Rs 319 (increase of Rs 25), and in Bihar to Rs 228 (increase of Rs 17).

In general, the wages have increased by an average of 7 per cent. The existing all-India average wage rate of Rs 267.32 per day has gone up to Rs 285.47 per day for 2024-25.

How rates are determined

The new wage rates were notified by the Ministry of Rural Development under sub-section (1) of section 6 of MGNREGA 2005 on Wednesday (March 27).

The ministry had last week taken the Election Commission’s permission to notify the revised MGNREGA wages for the next fiscal.

Changes in the Consumer Price Index-Agriculture Labor (CPI-AL), which reflects rise in inflation in rural areas, determine MGNREGA wage rates.

High range of variation

In a report tabled in Parliament earlier this year, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj had pointed out that the high range of variation in MGNREGA wages across states.

It had also said that the wages were inadequate and not in sync with the rising cost of living.

The panel also quoted a report of the Central Government Committee on minimum wages, Anoop Satpathy Committee, had recommended that the wages under MGNREGA should be Rs 375 a day.

(With agency inputs)