Centre to link NREGA wages to state's minimum wages: Jairam Ramesh

The Centre was considering a proposal to equate the wages for works under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act with the minimum wages prevailing in states, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh today said.

"There are some states where the wages under NREGA are lower than the state-level minimum wages. The Union Government proposed to amend Section 6 (1) of NREGA to equate the wages with the state minimum wages," Ramesh told reporters here.

A case on the issue had been pending in the Supreme Court and the government, after finalising its proposal, would inform the apex court of its decision, Ramesh said.

Even under the existing rules, NREGA wages were revised every year in April and equated with minimum wages every five years, he said.

Kerala, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, Uttarkhand and Jharkand are the states where the minimum wages are higher than the NREGA wages, he said.

In Kerala, the NREGA wage is Rs164 while the minimum wage is Rs200, he said.