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Date:19/01/2011 URL:
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Centre's new proposal on MNREGS wage

K. Balchand

NEW DELHI: Firm in its decision not to grant statutory minimum wages to MNREGS workers, the
United Progressive Alliance government now seems to be considering a statutory national floor level
wage as a way out of the impasse. Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia
on Tuesday made it clear that the MNREGS wage rate hike offered by Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh was final but added that the government would abide by any court ruling favouring application
of minimum wages for them.

At a seminar organised by the Bandhua Mukti Morcha, Mr. Ahluwalia said he would not comment
on whether the decision to link MNREGS wages with the Consumer Prince Index for Agricultural
Labour was right. It was now a question of opting for either the centrally decided wage rate or the
one fixed by the State government.

Mr. Ahluwalia did not reply to the charge that the government had acted in contempt of court in the
matter after the Andhra Pradesh High Court suspended a notification of the Ministry of Rural
Development Ministry about 18 months ago and that the worst part was that the Prime Minister had
still dared to tread a path contrary to the court ruling.

He said that those agitated over the issue should take to legal recourse for redressing their grievance
and should the judiciary pronounce in their favour the government would have to abide by it.

The former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Justice A.P. Shah said the Prime Minister's
declaration was unconstitutional as it amounted to paying less than the minimum wages. He
expressed surprise at the Union government implementing its order on wages for MNREGS
workers despite the AP High Court suspending it.

He said the government's interpretation of the MNREGA provisions defeated the purpose for which
they were framed and stressed that section 6(1) of the Act favoured fixing wages higher than the
minimum wages but not less than that.

MKSS leader Aruna Roy was critical of the Rural Development Minister for not pleading the case
of the workers for minimum wages and stressed that paying less than the minimum wages did not
appeal to common sense. She wondered why the government was refusing to bear the additional
burden when it would not entail an expenditure of more than Rs. 1,200 crore.

Bandhua Mukti Morcha leader Swami Agnivesh said the basis on which minimum wages were fixed
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was ridiculous and that the entire structure needed to be reformed.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury said that since the Centre had not challenged the
AP High Court ruling before the Supreme Court it had no option but to implement it. He attacked
the Prime Minister for taking a stand contrary to the court ruling and said that it amounted to
contempt of court.

He charged that the provisions of the MNREGA were surreptitiously changed before being
introduced in parliament to the disadvantage of the workers. Mr. Yechury regretted that the
objective seemed to be facilitating loot of government money and new methods were being evolved
by the minute. “We now have an IPL India and a BPL Bharat.”

CPI secretary D. Raja criticised the government for brazenly violating the law and also came out
against freezing of wages for MNREGS workers. He hoped that the government would not make
an issue of it.

Economist Jayati Ghosh was critical of Mr. Ahluwalia for his statement that the government would
not give minimum wages till courts gave such a ruling and charged that the bias was to favour the
corporate world as its growth path was profit induced.

She underlined that a wage-led growth would prove more beneficial.

Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan expressed shock at the refusal of the government to pay
minimum wages, that too when the Supreme Court had time and again made its stand clear on the
issue that not paying minimum wages amounted to forced labour.

The government only facilitated loot of the country's resources, he charged.

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