The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Job scheme wages to be extra burden

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Sunday, Jan 23, 2011
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Job scheme wages to be extra burden

N.J. Nair

State may need Rs.300 crore

Plan panel says additional wages to be paid by States
There are 9.25 lakh beneficiaries in the State

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Planning Commission's insistence that States will have to evolve their own means for paying additional wages to beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) above the rate fixed by the Centre, will incur an additional burden of Rs.300 crore to the State government.

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia had said in New Delhi on Monday that the States would have to bear the financial burden for paying the additional wages beyond the rate that had been fixed by the Union government

Price index

Though the State government has revised the minimum wages from Rs.125 to Rs.200 in 2009, the Union Rural Development Ministry had linked the wages to the consumer price index and fixed it at Rs.150 per day recently.

The scheme has around 9.25 lakh beneficiaries in the State.

Adding up

On opting to pay Rs.200 to each beneficiary a day, the State government will have to bear an annual burden of Rs.300 crore.

If the Centre retracts from its commitment to pay Rs.150 and decides to settle for Rs.125 as disbursed now, the financial commitment will go up further.

Contradictions

Official sources told The Hindu here that the Union Rural Development Ministry should take the lead in rectifying contradictions in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act so that beneficiaries would be entitled for fair wages as per the rates that have been fixed by State governments.

Divergent provisions

While one provision of the Act specified that statutory minimum wages prevalent in each State should be given to beneficiaries, another provision gave power to the Union government to fix its own wage rate.

The contradictions in the Act were being used to fix the rates in an arbitrary manner, sources said.

Bonded labour

Under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, engaging labourers to work for a rate below the minimum wages fixed by the State government would be deemed as bonded labour. Such a move can even attract punitive measures against those who do so.

The Centre should meet the additional expenses or the State government would be forced to give up the periodical revision of minimum wages.

Legal option

The issue would be taken up with the Centre again and on failing to reach a settlement, the State government would be compelled to move the court to ensure fair wages for the beneficiaries, sources said.

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