To avoid delays and to compensate the wage seekers for the delays, the Government has amended MGNREGA which entitles them to receive delay compensation at a rate of .05 per cent of the unpaid wages per day for the duration of the delay beyond the sixteenth day of the closure of the muster roll. The amendment was done on January 3, 2014, said Minister of State in the Rural Development Ministry, Upendra Kushwaha in a written reply in lok Sabha. He said that the compensation for delayed wages under MGNREGA since January 3, this year, has amounted to Rs 118.04 crore.
Kushwaha said, while Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana), Maharashtra and Jharkhand have paid as delay compensation an amount of Rs 8.95 crore, Rs 88.12 lakh and Rs 20,173 respectively, the other states are in the process of verifying the claims and they have been asked to expedite action in this regard.