Too early to make Aadhaar based system mandatory for MGNREGS payments: Parliament panel

New Delhi: A Parliamentary Panel has recommended that the Rural Development Ministry's Aadhaar Based Payment Bridge System (ABPS) for making payments under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) should not be made compulsory.

In a report tabled in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj also said alternative mechanism should always operate to ensure that the primary goal of the scheme to provide wages does not get defeated due to lack of proper implementation of technology.

The Committee pulled up the government on low wages under the MGNREGS and recommended a better inflation linked index for payment of wages to the workers.

The Committee noted that the APBS has been made mandatory since January 1, 2024. "While accepting the gains of APBS, the Committee is of the view that it is too early to make it mandatory as the problems relating to Aadhar seeding still have not been resolved leading to exclusion of lakhs of workers," the panel said.

"The Committee, therefore, reiterates their earlier recommendation that APBS should not be made mandatory and alternative mechanisms should always operate side by side to ensure that the primary goal of MGNREGA to provide wages does not get defeated due to lack of proper implementation of technology," it said.

The panel also said observing the rate of wages paid under MGNREGS since 2008, it found the amount inadequate and not in consonance with the rising cost of living.

"Taking up works under MGNREGS is a sort of last resort for many of the poor rural masses who do not have any other option of livelihood or job option to utilise but wages of such nominal nature sometime with delayed payment only discourage them and propel them to migrate and seek work in areas giving better remuneration," the panel said.

The Committee said even as MGNREGS is a demand driven scheme where the workers move out in search of better opportunities, the figures are abysmally low and it "definitely points towards low wage rates as one of the major reasons for the workers to opt out of MGNREGS, thereby hampering the percentage of work completed under MGNREGS".

It said the panel has time and again urged the Department of Rural Development (DoRD) to increase the wage rates under MGNREGS by linking it to an index commensurate with national inflation, but the wage rates continue to remain stagnant on account.

The panel also said it is "intrigued" about the unrevised base rate for fixation of wages.

The government of India notifies the wage rate under MGNREGS using Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labour (CPI-AL) and by keeping the wage rates thus obtained on 1st April, 2019 or Rs 100 whichever is more as the base for indexation for the states.

"The Committee finds this method of calculation using the base year of 2009-2010 obsolete and saturated," the report said.

The Committee reiterated its recommendation and urged the ministry to explore the feasibility of revising the base year and base rate in such a manner as to bring relief to the poor rural masses of the country who rely upon MGNREGS for their livelihood.

The panel also reiterated its recommendation for adoption of a much more economically viable method in identifying ways and means for the selection of an appropriate index commensurate with the inflationary trend.

On the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app, a mobile and internet based platform, the panel said non-availability of smart phones, irregular power supply and lack of proper internet connectivity in various areas, the attendance of many MGNREGS workers is not getting recorded by the app.

The Committee said this is leading to a delay in the payment of the wages.

The panel said while the NMMS app is a "right step" in eradicating irregularities to a certain extent, it still has a long way to go in terms of its execution.

The Committee also noted the demand from various quarters regarding the hike in the number of days of work sought under MGNREGS from 100 to 150 days.

"MGNREGA emerged as a last ray of hope for the poor rural masses in the unprecedented challenging times witnessed by all of us especially during the COVID pandemic," the panel said, adding that though the state governments may make provisions for additional days, mandatory increase in number of guaranteed days should be brought about by the DoRD in order to make it applicable for the entire country.

MGNREGS, better known as MGNREGA or NREGA, is a flagship scheme aimed at enhancing livelihood security of households in rural areas of the country by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.