A parliamentary panel has rejected the Centre's justification for not increasing the number of permissible working days and the wage rate under the national rural job scheme.

The parliamentary standing committee on rural development, headed by Congress Lok Sabha member Saptagiri Ulaka, on Wednesday tabled the action-taken report by the government on the panel's recommendation to raise working days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to 150 from 100 and the wage rate to ₹200 a day.

In its reply, the rural development department said the MGNREGA law provided for up to 100 days of work per year to every rural household. However, state governments are allowed to provide additional days of employment, the government told the panel.

“The committee finds the reply routine and generic in nature, merely highlighting the formulated provisions of the Act. Although the state governments may make provisions for additional days, still the committee is of the firm opinion that the mandatory increase in number of guaranteed days should be brought about by the rural development department by moving an amendment in the Act to make it applicable for the entire country, so that the demand of needy beneficiaries may not hinge upon the will of the state governments,” the panel said.

Currently, the MGNREGA wage rate is revised annually based on the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labour (CPI-AL). The revision of wages is low in states, ranging between 0-5 per cent, because of the low CPI-AL.

“The committee has time and again urged the rural development department to increase the wage rates under the MGNREGA by linking it with an index commensurate with national inflation. But the wage rates under the MGNREGA continue to remain stagnant on account of no change in indexation,” the panel said.

The government said the MGNREGA law provided for the calculation of wage rates based on CPI-AL.

The panel rejected the defence as a “stereotype" reply.