**Executive Summary**
This report, answered on December 2, 2025, addresses a Lok Sabha question (No. 459) regarding delays in wage payments under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). It covers the quantum of pending wage payments since 2021-22, proposed revisions to wage rates, the impact of wage delays, efforts to ensure timely disbursal, and average delays in the last three years, state-wise. The Central Government released ₹68,393.67 crore to States including 100% of pending wage liabilities of FY 2024-25 as of November 26, 2025.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Wage Payment Process:**
* MGNREGS is a demand-driven wage employment scheme.
* Wage payments are credited directly by the Central Government through Direct Benefit Transfer.
* Sanctions for wage payments are issued daily through the Public Finance Management System (PFMS) based on fund transfer orders from the States.
* Admissible pending liabilities of the previous year are reimbursed.
* All pending wage liabilities up to FY 2024-25 (except for West Bengal) have been cleared.
* State/UT-wise details of pending liabilities for wage component under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS as on November 26, 2025, are provided in Annexure-I.
* **Wage Rate Revision:**
* The Central Government may specify the wage rate for unskilled work for beneficiaries.
* The Ministry of Rural Development notifies MGNREGA wage rates for every financial year for States/UTs.
* Wage rates are revised annually based on the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labour (CPI-AL), effective from April 1st of each year.
* Wage rates have increased by around 5% (average) over the last year and around 29% (average) in the previous 5 years.
* State Governments can provide wages above the Central Government rate from their own sources.
* **Impact of Wage Delays and Livelihood Security:**
* MGNREGS provides livelihood security as a fallback option for rural households.
* Beneficiaries are entitled to wage payments within 15 days of work completion.
* Delayed payments trigger compensation at 0.05% of unpaid wages per day after the 15-day period.
* The scheme aims to reduce distress migration by providing assured employment and predictable wage income.
* **West Bengal Implementation:**
* Implementation of MGNREGS in West Bengal is being reworked to comply with the Calcutta High Court's order dated June 18, 2025.
* Fund release to West Bengal was stopped effective March 9, 2022, due to non-compliance with directives; pending liability for the State of West Bengal stands at ₹1457.22 crore as on March 8, 2022, and its admissibility is subject to verification by the Central Government.
* The proposal for upward revision of the Labour Budget for FY 2021-22 for the State of West Bengal was not approved.
* **Fund Transfer Order (FTO) Generation:**
* State/UT-wise percentage of Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs) generated within T+8 days of muster roll closure during the last three financial years are given at Annexure-II.
**Impact Analysis**
**Central Government**
* **Impact**
Responsible for disbursing funds, setting wage rates, monitoring implementation, and ensuring compliance with the MGNREGA Act.
* **Action Required**
Continue to release funds, revise wage rates annually, verify West Bengal’s pending liabilities, and ensure States comply with directives for MGNREGS implementation.
**State Governments / Union Territories**
* **Impact**
Responsible for implementing MGNREGS, ensuring timely wage payments, and submitting fund transfer orders to the Central Government.
* **Action Required**
Follow due procedures for submitting fund transfer orders, ensure timely wage payments, comply with Central Government directives, and provide additional wages from their own sources if desired. West Bengal must comply with the Calcutta High Court's order and Central Government directives.
**MGNREGS Beneficiaries (Wage Seekers)**
* **Impact**
Affected by wage delays, wage rates, and the availability of employment under MGNREGS.
* **Action Required**
Complete work and await timely wage payments, entitled to compensation for delayed wages beyond 15 days.
Key Entities Referenced
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS): A demand-driven wage employment scheme aimed at enhancing livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
Ministry of Rural Development: The central government ministry responsible for implementing and overseeing the MGNREGS program, including notifying wage rates and releasing funds.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005: The legal framework that establishes the MGNREGS program, defining its objectives, implementation guidelines, and provisions for wage payments and compensation for delays.
West Bengal: Indian state facing issues with MGNREGS implementation and fund releases, subject to specific scrutiny and directives from the Central Government and the Calcutta High Court.
Public Finance Management System (PFMS): System used by the Ministry of Rural Development to sanction wage payments under MGNREGS after receiving fund transfer orders from the States.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 459
ANSWERED ON 02/12/2025
DELAY IN WAGE PAYMENTS UNDER MGNREGS
459. Shri Kalyan Banerjee:
Shri Sachithanantham R:
Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:
(a) the details of the quantum of wage payments towards
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme (MGNREGS) pending as of the latest available date
since 2021-22, State-wise;
(b) whether the Government has proposed to revise at least 400
per day as recommended by the Parliamentary Committee (May
2025), if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
(c) the details of impact of wage delays on livelihood security and
distress migration therefor;
(d) the timeline and mechanism to ensure time-bound wage
disbursal and action taken by the State of West Bengal in this
regard; and
(e) the details of the average delay in wage payments under
MGNREGS during the last three years, State-wise?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)
(a): Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS) is a demand-driven wage
employment scheme. Fund release is a continuous process.
Under the Scheme, the wage payments are directly credited by
the Central Government to the account of beneficiaries through
Direct Benefit Transfer protocol. Sanctions for wage payments are
issued daily by the Ministry through the Public Finance Management
System (PFMS) based on fund transfer orders received from the
States after due procedures. At the beginning of each financial year,
Page 1 of 6admissible pending liabilities of the previous year, if any, are duly
reimbursed by the Government of India. Accordingly, all pending
wage liabilities upto FY 2024-25 (except State of West Bengal) have
already been cleared.
In the current Financial Year 2025-26 (as on 26.11.2025), an
amount of Rs. 68,393.67 crore has been released to the States
including 100% of pending wage liabilities of FY 2024-25. As
sanction for payment of wages are issued by Ministry on a daily
basis through PFMS (Public Finance Management System), after
receipt of funds transfer orders from States after following the due
procedures, the fund release status keeps updating on a daily basis.
State/Union Territory (UT)-wise details of pending liabilities for
wage component under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS as on 26.11.2025
are given at Annexure-I.
(b): With regard to the Committee's recommendations regarding
revision of wage rates under the scheme, it is submitted that at as
per Section 6 (1) of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA), 2005, the Central
Government may by notification specify the wage rate for unskilled
work for its beneficiaries. Accordingly, the Ministry of Rural
Development notifies Mahatma Gandhi NREGA wage rate for every
financial year for States/UTs. To compensate the Mahatma Gandhi
NREGA workers against inflation, the Ministry of Rural Development
revises the wage rate every year based on the change in Consumer
Price Index for Agricultural Labour(CPI-AL). The wage rate is made
applicable from 1st April of each financial year.
Using the present methodology of wage rate calculation, the
Central Government has notified the wage rate and it has increased
by around 5% (average) over the last year and around 29% (average)
in the previous 5 years. However, State Governments can provide
wages over and above the wage rate notified by the Central
Government, from its own sources.
(c): Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS) is a demand-driven wage
employment Scheme. It provides livelihood security, i.e. fall back
options for livelihood for the rural households, when no better
employment opportunity is available. As per the provisions of the
Act, beneficiaries are entitled to receive wage payments within 15
Page 2 of 6days of work completion. In cases where wages are not paid within
this stipulated period, Schedule-II of the Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 provides that wage seekers
shall be entitled to compensation for the delay at the rate of 0.05%
of the unpaid wages per day, starting from the sixteenth day after
the closure of the muster roll.
By ensuring assured employment and predictable wage
income within the local rural area, the Scheme helps reduce
distress migration, as rural workers are able to access wage
employment and livelihood support within their own rural area.
(d): For the resumption of implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi
NREGS in the State of West Bengal, and in accordance with the
order dated 18.06.2025 passed by the Hon'ble Calcutta High Court,
the Department is currently in the process of reworking and refining
the necessary modalities and procedures to comply with the
Hon’ble High Court’s directions.
(e): State/Union Territories wise percentage of Fund Transfer
Orders (FTOs) generated within T+8 days of muster roll closure
under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS during the last three financial
years is given at Annexure-II.
*****
Page 3 of 6Annexure-I
Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) of LokSabhaUnstarred Question No. 459
dated 02.12.2025.
State/Union Territory (UT)-wise details of pending liabilities for wage component under
Mahatma Gandhi NREGS as on 26.11.2025 (Rs. in crores)
Sl. No. States/UTs Pending liabilities for wage component
1 Andhra Pradesh 381.02
2 Arunachal Pradesh 4.70
3 Assam 0.23
4 Bihar 7.04
5 Chhattisgarh 3.78
6 Goa 0.00
7 Gujarat 46.98
8 Haryana 0.38
9 Himachal Pradesh 15.18
10 Jammu & Kashmir 5.48
11 Jharkhand 5.83
12 Karnataka 8.94
13 Kerala 248.42
14 Madhya Pradesh 64.14
15 Maharashtra 14.32
16 Manipur 4.59
17 Meghalaya 4.13
18 Mizoram 91.43
19 Nagaland 0.79
20 Odisha 11.76
21 Punjab 0.12
22 Rajasthan 627.33
23 Sikkim 0.10
24 Tamil Nadu 111.54
25 Telangana 0.98
26 Tripura 2.93
27 Uttar Pradesh 5.98
28 Uttarakhand 0.41
29 West Bengal* 1457.22
30 Andaman & Nicobar 0.00
31 Lakshadweep 0.00
32 Puducherry 16.99
33 Ladakh 0.46
34 Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman & Diu 1.29
Total 1687.27
*The proposal for upward revision of the Labour Budget for FY 2021-22 for the
State of West Bengal was not approved by the Empowered Committee, National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS), Department of
Rural Development due to non-compliance with the directives issued by this
Department. Subsequently, the release of funds to the State of West Bengal under
the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma
Gandhi NREGS) was also stopped with effect from 09.03.2022 by invoking the
provisions of Section 27 of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act, 2005, owing to continued non-compliance with the directives of
the Central Government by the State. Therefore, as per NREGASoft, the pending
liability pertaining to the State of West Bengal (as on 08.03.2022) for wage
component stands at ₹1457.22 crore.The admissibility of this liability is subject to
verification by the Central Government.
Page 4 of 6Annexure-II
Annexure referred to in reply to part (e) of LokSabhaUnstarred Question No. 459
dated 02.12.2025.
State/Union Territories –wise percentage of Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs) have been
generation within T+8 days of muster roll closure under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS
during the last three financial years.
SI. No. State/Union Territories 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
1 Andaman And Nicobar 7.82 38.3 4.01
2 Andhra Pradesh 93.25 99.92 99.99
3 Arunachal Pradesh 58.86 63.06 72.5
4 Assam 93.04 94.25 97.45
5 Bihar 89.61 93.79 92.79
6 Chhattisgarh 66.28 99.4 97.62
7 Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman & Diu 0 57.04 55.86
8 Goa 53 32.68 37.62
9 Gujarat 89.84 98.03 99.22
10 Haryana 74.63 63.58 81.85
11 Himachal Pradesh 83.25 94.64 97.38
12 Jammu and Kashmir 70.05 77.56 82.29
13 Jharkhand 99.82 99.97 99.91
14 Karnataka 95.13 96.42 96.77
15 Kerala 86.17 97.79 97.45
16 Ladakh 52.28 48.67 63.5
17 Lakshadweep 56.62 49.41 0
18 Madhya Pradesh 96.26 99.05 99.11
19 Maharashtra 77.08 77.03 66.56
20 Manipur 9.26 9.03 14.34
21 Meghalaya 58.15 61.35 71.18
22 Mizoram 85.66 87.06 96.34
23 Nagaland 18.09 41.22 52.9
24 Odisha 99.34 97.31 98.73
25 Puducherry 62.44 38.25 45.69
26 Punjab 69.77 83.34 82.85
27 Rajasthan 79.12 96.44 98.85
28 Sikkim 83.03 87.53 91.62
29 Tamil Nadu 97.88 99.94 99.98
30 Telangana 46.97 96 99.23
31 Tripura 94.09 98.41 97.43
32 Uttar Pradesh 79.72 91.35 95.76
33 Uttarakhand 99.17 99.85 99.96
34 West Bengal ** ** **
Total 85.91 95.14 94.65
(As per NREGASoft)
**The release of funds to the State of West Bengal under the Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS) was
stopped with effect from 09.03.2022 by invoking the provisions of Section 27 of
the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, owing to
continued non-compliance with the directives of the Central Government by the
State.
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