Govt Hikes MGNREGA Wages: Check State-Wise New Rate List

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New Delhi: The government has increased pay for rural occupations, with the highest wage rate of 357 rupees per day being in the state of Haryana. The lowest daily salary rate is 221, which is found in places like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. From April 1, 2023, the new wage rates will be in effect.

The Union Ministry of Rural Development announced the rural job guarantee programme for the fiscal year 2023–2024 on March 24. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Program 2005's Section 6 was used to implement the salary modification (1).

The wage increases will start on April 1 and range from $7 to $26 per day. The wage increases range from 2 percent to 10 percent when expressed in percentage terms.

In value terms, Haryana's daily salary rate increased from 331 to 357 rupees. Rajasthan experienced the largest salary increase in terms of percentage, going from 231 to 255 rupees per day in the fiscal FY23.

MNREGA is a demand-driven wage employment programme that aims to increase the livelihood stability of rural households by guaranteeing at least one hundred days of pay during each fiscal year to every home whose adult members volunteer to perform unskilled manual labour.

Moreover, two states, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, have the lowest salary rates for FY24 at $221 per day each. In comparison to the daily pay rate of 204 in FY23, this would represent an increase of 17 in these two states.

Karnataka, Goa, Meghalaya, and Manipur are among the other states that have experienced pay increases with the lowest percentage increases.

The ministry stated earlier this month that as of March 9, 2023, 5.97 crore families had access to work through MNREGA.

(With PTI Inputs)