Minister for Local Self-Governments (LSG) M.B. Rajesh on Thursday termed the wage rate revised by the Centre for unskilled workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Kerala as insufficient and discriminatory.
The wage rate for workers in Kerala has been increased by a mere ₹13 (from ₹333 to ₹346), a hike of 3.9%, Mr. Rajesh said. In neighbouring Karnataka, the wage has been hiked by ₹33 from ₹316 to ₹349. In Tamil Nadu, it has seen an increase of ₹25 (8.5%), by ₹34 (10.56%) in Goa, in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, by ₹28 (10.29%).
Kerala remains a model to the entire country in terms of its commitment to the spirit of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, providing work and creation of assets, Mr. Rajesh said.
He noted that the Centre had initially sanctioned only 6 crore person-days for Kerala in the current fiscal although the State had logged 9.65 crore person-days in the previous fiscal.
Following pressure from the State, it was increased to 8 crore person-days, a target which the State achieved by December. The Centre had later increased the allocation to 9.50 crore and later 10.50 crore person-days. Kerala has so far generated 9.88 crore person-days of work, Mr. Rajesh said.
