NREGA labourers in state get Rs 3 wage hike

Ranchi: Labourers in Jharkhand seem to have got some relief this election season as the Centre has hiked their NREGA wages by Rs 3. Last year, the labourers’ wages had not been increased at all while it was raised by Re 1 in 2017, when the labourers in protest had sent back their increased wages to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Opposition parties smelt politics behind the Centre’s announcement on Friday and questioned the urgency when model code of conduct is in force. JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said Modi in his initial public address had called NREGA a monumental disaster. “What can we expect from this government? As far as seeking permission from the EC to make the announcement of hike is concerned, it definitely had political connotations so that the labour class does not feel neglected,” he said.

Congress, which had introduced the scheme 14 years ago, is silently watching the employment guarantee dying a slow death. “NREGA allocations have been reduced and the NDA government has been fooling the people in the name of wage hike every year since it came to power,” Congress state media committee chairman Rajesh Thakur said. He added: “If Modi is trying to woo voters, he should have handed over 0.001% of the Rs 15 lakh he had promised to every citizen during the last election campaign.”

Richa Singh, a member of NREGA Sangharsh Morcha and an activist representing Kisan Mazdoor Sangh in Uttar Pradesh, said while they are disappointed over the hike, they are not surprised. “Labourers in Uttar Pradesh got no hike in 2018, but this year Rs 7 has been incremented. Likewise, Jharkhand was neglected in 2018, but this year labourers have been offered a Rs 3 hike,” she said, adding that at one hand the Centre seeks the approval of the EC to announce wage hikes for political mileage while on the other, work under NREGA has stopped at the block level in the name of model code.

James Herenj, state convener of Jharkhand NREGA Watch, said he sees a deeper conspiracy behind the Centre deciding wages differently for different states. “In Jharkhand, daily wage under NREGA was Rs 168 in 2018 which has now reached Rs 171. At Rs 239, minimum agricultural wage rate is also low though better than NREGA. This is to ensure that the labourers are forced to migrate to other states where they can be exploited,” he said. Herenj pointed that the corporate houses require cheap labour so most of the central Indian states have poor wage rates so that they can be hired by big corporates for paltry sums.

State BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo said wage increment comes to effect from April 1 every year and this should not be seen through the lens of the coming elections. “I am sure the Centre will revise the wage rates and make them more rational after the elections,” he said.