In a letter dated November 11, Sonia wrote: “Since the matter is of an urgent and inter-ministerial nature, you may wish to have it examined and give suitable directions.”
The National Advisory Council, headed by Sonia, had in a meeting on October 23 endorsed the proposal that workers under the scheme need to be paid the minimum wages as notified under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. “This is a very significant step on the part of Sonia Gandhi as workers in 19 states across the country are being denied minimum wages under the NREGA scheme,” said Harsh Mander, a council member.
The Centre had notified Rs 100 as the applicable wage rate for the scheme. But the minimum wages in several states such as Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Karnataka are now higher than Rs 100. So workers under NREGA, who are being paid Rs 100, are getting less than the minimum wage in these states.
Mander pointed out the discrepancy between the minimum wages fixed by the Centre under the employment scheme and that fixed by different states and stressed the need to bring the wages of the rural workers on a par with the minimum wages in the states.
A source in the rural development ministry, which implements the NREGA, said: “We are going to set up a committee to sort out how the payment would be made.”
Several social organisations have been pushing for a revision in NREGA wages.
Aruna Roy of Suchna Evum Rozgar Ka Adhikar Abhiyan pointed out how Bengal has been consistently performing badly since the scheme was introduced. Bengal does not even pay workers the Rs 100 that the Centre is willing to give, paying Rs 75-80 instead.