GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2189
TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.03.2018
WAGE PAYMENT UNDER MGNREGS
2189. DR. SHASHI THAROOR:
Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state

(a) the total percentage of delayed wage payments under Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) out of the total wage payments
for the financial year 2015-16, 2016-17 and the latest information for the financial
year 2017-18;
(b) the details of total compensation payable for delayed wage payment till date;
(c) whether the entire compensation amount payable for delayed wage payments has been
credited to the accounts of respective MGNREGS workers;
(d) if so, the details thereof and if not the reasons therefor; and
(e) the steps taken/being taken by the Government since 13.05.2016 when the Supreme
Court delivered its judgment in Swaraj Abhiyan vs. Union of India case to expedite
the wage payment process under MGNREGS?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI RAM KRIPAL YADAV)
(a): The Ministry along with the States/UTs has been making concerted efforts for
improving the timely payment of wages. States/ UTs have been advised to generate pay
orders in time. This has resulted in considerable improvement in the status of timely
generation of pay orders leading to improvement in actual time taken to credit wages in the
workers account.
Financial year
2017-18
(As on 05th March, 2018)
2016-17 2015-16
% of pay orders generated in time 85.73% 43.58% 36.92%
% of pay orders delayed 14.27% 56.42% 63.08%
(b) to (d): As per the provisions under Para 29 (1) of Schedule-II of the MGNREG Act,
provisions have been enabled in the NREGASoft to automatically calculate the compensation
payable for delay in payment of wages. This has been made operational since 3rd January,
2014. A sum of Rs. 1917 crore has been estimated as payable compensation, out of which Rs.
88.46 crore has been approved for payment of compensation after due verification. Out of the
approved compensation, Rs 77.77 crore has been paid. A sum of Rs. 289.57 crore is pending
for verification by the Programme Officers at the Block Level. The Ministry has been
monitoring the progress of payment of compensation on daily basis.
(e): With a view to increase the timely payment, the Ministry has taken following steps:
(i) Upscaling of National Electronic Fund management System (Ne-FMS) in 24 States
and 1 UT.
(ii) Four days intensive consultation with State Governments to strategize timely payment
of wages, verification of pending compensation claims etc.
(iii) Standard Operating Procedure for monitoring of timely payment and payment of
compensation issued.
(iv) Video conferences with States/ UTs reviewing the status of timely payment and
payment of delay compensation on monthly basis.
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Relevance

Wage Payment under MGNREGS

MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) is a scheme that aims to improve livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household whos adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Currently, there is a massive delay in workers getting paid for their employment. For instance, a total sum of Rs. 289.57 crore is still pending for verification by government and a total sum of Rs. 1917 crore is payable compensation that government owes to the workers, out of which only 77.77 crore has been paid to workers. No particular reasons have been listed out for such delay in verification and compensation of wages.

Although the pay orders that were generated in time have increased from 43.58% in 2016-2017 to 85.73% in 2017-2018 (as per 5th March 2018), the statistic might not be promising because first, orders from previous years are still pending, and second, the statistic does not state whether there was a decline in number of workers who enrolled in the scheme, which might lead to more timely payments as a result. The delay of wage payments under MGNREGS not only affects livelihood of workers who have worked hard over the 100 days to get their due but it also further deters prospective workers to get enrolled in the scheme.