MNREGA gets new name, 125 days of employment
NEW DELHI: Setting the stage for a major overhaul of the countrys flagship rural jobs scheme, the Union Cabinet on Friday approved the renaming of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to Pujya Bapu Gramin Rozgar Yojana. The government also proposes to increase the guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days of work per rural household each year. It also plans to revise the minimum wage under the scheme to `240 per day, along with additional budgetary allocations to support the expanded mandate. The decision to rechristen the name comes at a time when the West Bengal government has been pressing the Centre to release its long-pending dues under MGNREGA. The state has repeatedly argued that the freeze on Rs 51,627 crore has crippled wage payments and stalled ongoing works, and has accused the government of withholding money on political grounds. The Centre has stopped funding the rural scheme in West Bengal since March 9, 2022, based on allegations of corruption in the implementation process. The state is on a warpath demanding payment of dues. Enacted in 2005, the existing law is one of Indias largest social security measures, aimed at ensuring the right to work for rural households by providing guaranteed unskilled manual labour. At present, MGNREGA offers 100 days of work at wage rates linked to state-level notifications, though activists have consistently flagged low wages, delayed payments, and severe underfunding. Activists and several organisations have been demanding that the government raise NREGA wages to match state minimum wages, noting that the proposed Rs 240 per day remains below statutory minimum wages in many states, effectively institutionalising wage discrimination. There has been a long standing demand to increase the overall budget substantially, as the programme regularly runs out of funds midway through the financial year, forcing states to halt work or delay wages. Another demand was to remove Aadhaar-linked payment barriers. Since January 1, 2024, ABPS has been made mandatory.
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