NREGA rates must match minimum state wages: SC

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay a recent Karnataka High Court ruling that says the central government is liable to pay higher wages under the country's flagship rural employment programme in tandem with the state's minimum wage rate.

The court strongly suggested that the union government withdraw its appeal against the high court order that directs it to observe Karnataka's minimum wage law in its centrally sponsored job schemes.

It has asked the government to find a way to end the disparity between the wages paid under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA) and state mandated rates under the Minimum Wages Act.

The centre had challenged the Karnataka High Court directive in the apex court citing budget constraints, but a two-judge bench refused a wholesale stay on the order, which means the government must for now pay the minimum wage in Karnataka under the scheme.

''It (the rural job scheme) is a piece of beneficial legislation. You should give it (the minimum wage) yourself instead of being seen as reluctant to give it,'' Justice Gyansudha Misra, sitting alongside Justice Cyriac Joseph, told the government.