Supreme Court order triggers NREGS wage debate

The Supreme Court has reiterated the Karnataka High Court order, directing the Centre to pay the minimum daily wage rate applicable in Karnataka to labourers employed in the state under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The Centre had fixed the wage rate for agricultural workers in Karnataka at Rs 82, as per a January 2009 notification; the high court held that the appropriate wage rate of Rs 119.42 should be paid. (Karnataka's minimum wage rate has since been revised to Rs 145 and MGNREGS wage to Rs 125).