NEW DELHI: A paltry annual hike in daily wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for unskilled workers was jeered at by the Opposition, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi promising to jack it up to Rs 400 a day.Each state has a different daily wage rate under the scheme. Haryana was at the top of the pecking order at Rs 374 after the revision this year while in Uttar Pradesh it was just Rs 237. In gross terms, states like UP and Assam witnessed an increase of just Rs 7 as compared to last year while the wage rise in Goa was Rs 28. The annual revision by the Centre is meant to mitigate inflation. A government official termed the revision a routine exercise.Taking a dig, Rahul sarcastically said, “Congratulations to MNREGA workers! The PM has increased your salary by Rs 7. Now he might ask you, ‘What will you do with such a huge amount of money?’”Trinamool leader Saket Gokhale sharply criticised the inadequate increase of wages, especially in West Bengal. “Shameful & shocking that in today’s wage revision announced for MGNREGA, Modi Govt has increased wages for workers in Bengal by only 5%,” Gokhale posted on X. Goa topped the chart with a hike of 10.56%, while in Karnataka it was 10.4%, MP and Chhattisgarh 9.9%, Gujarat 9.3% and Bihar 7.4%.
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