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regular-article-logo Sunday, 10 August 2025

Workers opt out of rural job scheme over wages; activists blame government ‘neglect’

AAP member Sandeep K. Pathak had sought year-wise details of workers who were employed under the job scheme, the money allocated for it and the wage rate

Basant Kumar Mohanty Published 10.08.25, 06:17 AM
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Representational image File picture

The national rural job scheme witnessed a drop of over 85 lakh workers in just two years, marking a stark decline that activists have attributed to “consistent neglect” of the programme by the Centre and the low wage rate.

According to data provided by minister of state for rural development Kamlesh Paswan in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, the number of labourers who worked under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) dropped to 788 lakh (7.88 crore) in 2024-25 from 875 lakh (8.75 crore) in 2022-23.

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The states that witnessed a major drop in the number of workers were Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (see chart). During this period, the 100-day job scheme was put on hold in Bengal over allegations of irregularities.

AAP member Sandeep K. Pathak had sought year-wise details of workers who were employed under the job scheme, the money allocated for it and the wage rate.

Paswan said 86,000 crore had been allocated for the scheme in 2024-25, and the same amount had been retained for 2025-26. The rural development ministry seeks additional funds when required, he added.

Social activist Nikhil Dey, who is associated with the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan that works for the implementation of the MGNREGA in Rajasthan, said the scheme had become less attractive because of low allocation of funds against demand, low wages, delayed payment and use of technology to register the attendance of workers.

"The Union government has been consistently neglecting the MGNREGA scheme by reducing funds. The allocated funds remaining the same means it is a reduction in real terms, keeping in view inflation. The workers do not get paid within 15 days from completion of work,” Dey said.

He said the government had introduced the National Mobile Monitoring System to register worker attendance, but the system acted up in several rural areas because of poor Internet. Dey said the MGNREGA wage rate was lower than the minimum wages set by various state governments. According to the notified wage rate, it is 255 per day in Bihar and Jharkhand, 261 in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, 273 in Odisha, 252 in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and 281 in Rajasthan.

“These states have witnessed a sharp drop in workers availing employment under the scheme because the minimum wage rate set by these states is, in many cases, higher than the MGNREGA wage rate, making the scheme less attractive for workers,” Dey said.

Paswan said the state governments had the option of providing wages over and above the wage rate notified by the Centre from their sources.

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