Committees Over Commitment: How Govt's High Level Panels Have Led Nowhere

In March 2024, the Ministry of Rural Development announced revised MGNREGA daily wage rates for FY25. The Committee also said, “It has been also brought to the notice of the Committee that a Central Government Committee on minimum wages, Anoop Satpathy Committee, had recommended that the wages under MGNREGA should be Rs 375/- per day.” The issue of MGNREGA wages is complex, and numerous committees have been formed to address it. In October 2013, the then United Progressive Alliance government formed a seven-member committee led by economist S Mahendra Dev to examine how MGNREGA wages can be linked to the the minimum wage rate in respective states. The Nagesh Singh committee rejected the proposal to link MGNREGA wages to the state's minimum wage, suggesting instead that wages be tied to the Consumer Price Index for Rural rather than the Consumer Price Index for Agriculture. In view of the above situation, the Committee strongly recommend the Ministry to review its stand concerning with the wages once again and approach all the decision making bodies with plausible rationale so that a long pending demand of justifiable hike in the wages under MGNREGA is fulfilled for the welfare of beneficiaries” Later, In December 2022, another nine-member committee was formed, headed by former rural development department secretary Amarjeet Sinha.