Caste-based MGNREGA Wages Payment

In News

• Parliament’s Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has asked the government to roll back the system of caste-based wages, under which NREGS workers are paid based on whether they belong to a Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, or Others.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)

• Mandate: 
  • The mandate of the MGNREGA is to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
• Objectives: 
  • Providing not less than one hundred days of unskilled manual work as guaranteed employment in a financial year to every household in rural areas as per demand, resulting in the creation of productive assets of prescribed quality and durability
  • Strengthening the livelihood resource base of the poor
  • Proactively ensuring social inclusion and
  • Strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions
• Coverage: 
  • It is implemented in all rural districts of the country.
• Role of Gram Sabha in MGNREGS: 
  • It determines the order of priority of works in the meetings of the Gram Sabha keeping in view the potential of the local area, its needs, and local resources.
  • Monitor the execution of works within the GP.
  • It is the primary forum for the conduct of social audits. It provides a platform to all residents to seek and obtain all relevant information from all the Implementing Agencies including GP in relation to MGNREGA works implemented in the GP area.
• Legal Right to Work: 
  • The Act provides a legal right to employment for adult members of rural households.

What is the caste-based payment system?

• Under the new system, if 20 individuals (say, six SCs, four STs and 10 others) work together at a site under MG-NREGA, a single muster roll would be issued, but payment would be done by issuing three separate Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs), one for each of the three categories. 

What was the earlier system of payment?

• The Rural Development Ministry notifies wage rates for states and Union Territories under Section 6(1) of The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005.
• Until 2020-21, the wages were being paid to NREGS beneficiaries through a single funds transfer order.
• In other words, if 20 beneficiaries, including SCs, STs and Others work at a site under MGNREGA, all received their wages at the same time, through a single muster roll and a single funds transfer order.

Issues with caste-based payment system

• Different timings: After the new system came into force in 2021, some beneficiaries started complaining that despite working at the same site and registering on the same muster roll, they were getting their wages at different times depending on their categories.
• Delay in payments: Beneficiaries in the ‘Others’ category, which includes the ‘General’ and Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories, especially complained of delays.
• Rift: The system of caste-based segregation in wage payment would give rise to resentment and create rift.
• Non-uniform: The payment of wages to workers has been erratic and non-uniform, triggering caste-based tensions among MGNREGA workers.
• Ridiculously low wage rate: Currently, MGNREGA wage rates of 17 states are less than the corresponding state minimum wages. Various judgements have upheld that the MGNREGA wage rate cannot be less than the minimum agricultural wage rate of the state.
• Insufficient budget allocation: MGNREGA’s success at the ground level is subject to proper and uninterrupted fund flow to the states.

• Workers penalized for administrative lapses: The ministry withholds wage payments for workers of states that do not meet administrative requirements within the stipulated time period.
• Non-payment of unemployment allowance: There are a huge number of unemployment allowances being shown in the MIS currently. But inaction from the Central government in ensuring payments of the same has shown that the government wants to use the MIS as per its convenience and is not honouring its own database.
• Discrimination: The most remarkable feature of MGNREGA is that it pays women the same as men, something that was virtually unimaginable in Rural India. However, cases of discrimination against women and people from backward groups are reported from several regions of the country.

Counter Argument

• The panel has asked the Ministry of Rural Development to restore the earlier system by which a single Fund Transfer Order was generated without any sort of segregation on the basis of caste.
• The Committee headed by Prataprao Jadhav said NREGS workers are part of the economically weak populace and can come from any religion/caste, creation of such payment system wherein one specific community is preferred over the other solely on the ground of caste will only give rise to resentment and create rift among the beneficiaries of MGNREGA.
• The beneficiaries of MGNREGA cutting across the different sections of society have only one thing in common, i.e., they are poor, destitute and have no other fallback option but MGNREGA to look upon for their basic source of survival.

Benefits of MGNREGA

• Social protection: It provides social protection for the most vulnerable people living in rural India by guaranteeing wage employment opportunities.
• Enhance livelihood security of the rural poor: Through the generation of wage employment opportunities in works leading to the creation of durable assets.
• Natural resource base: It will help rejuvenate the natural resource base of rural areas.
• Rural asset base: It will help create a durable and productive rural asset base.
• Empowerment of various sections of the society: Empowerment of the socially disadvantaged, especially, women, Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), through the processes of rights-based legislation.
• Decentralization and participation: Strengthen decentralized, participatory planning through the convergence of various anti-poverty and livelihoods initiatives.
• Panchayati Raj Institutions: Deepen democracy at the grassroots by strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions.

Way Forward

• The practice which started from 2021-22 itself needs to be addressed urgently and not to be encouraged any further by ensuring that each and every labour working under the Scheme, irrespective of caste, gets payment within time-frame fixed by the MGNREGA.
• It should be ensured that all labourers under the scheme receive payment within the timeframe fixed by the MGNREGA.
• The Committee unanimously recommended to restore the earlier mechanism of generation of single Fund Transfer Order without any sort of segregation on the basis of caste so that the welfare oriented nature of MGNREGA is not divided on caste basis.  
• Social audits: There is a need to carry out social audits as per rules and effective implementation of the delay compensation system.
• Compensation clause: Under the scheme’s compensation clause, agencies responsible for the delay are expected to pay 0.05 percent of wages per day after the closure of the muster roll.
• Raising awareness: The participation of women and backwards classes must be increased by raising awareness and making it more inclusive.
• Utilization of funds: Reasons for poor utilization of funds should be analyzed and steps must be taken to improve them. In addition, actions should be initiated against officers found guilty of misappropriating funds.

Source: IE