Manipur Cabinet Approves Compensation for Farmers and Revises Minimum Wages

Imphal: Ahead of the upcoming Manipur Legislative Assembly session, the Manipur Cabinet has sanctioned Phase-II compensatory amounts totaling Rs 13,30,04,314 for 2,072 affected farmers and revised minimum wages for 24 scheduled employees.

The cabinet convened on Wednesday evening at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. Information and Publicity Minister S. Ranjan briefed reporters at his Lamphel residence in Imphal West, stating that 16 listed agendas were discussed during the meeting, with no unlisted items introduced.

Among the key agendas, six were presented by the Finance Department. These included budget documentation for 2024-25, the AG report for the assembly, the Manipur Contingency Fund Bill, demands for excess grants for 2018-19, the Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the recruitment of four Public Finance Management System (PFMS) experts through the Directorate of Treasuries and Accounts (DTA), Manipur. The minister noted that centrally sponsored scheme funds are transferred through the PFMS’s single nodal agency, necessitating the recruitment of PFMS experts approved by the cabinet.

In response to the ongoing crisis affecting farmers, the government had previously released Rs 18.91 crore in Phase-I of financial assistance. To continue supporting these farmers, the cabinet approved an additional Rs 13,30,04,314 in Phase-II for 2,072 farmers.

The cabinet also approved revised minimum wages based on recommendations from the State Advisory Board on minimum wages, following a meeting on February 20. The new rates are as follows: unskilled labor from Rs 225 to Rs 400 per day, semi-skilled labor from Rs 248 to Rs 400 per day, skilled labor from Rs 273 to Rs 480 per day, manager/principal/vice principal from Rs 333.33 to Rs 590 per day, local authority employees such as chowkidar, peon, sweeper, cleaner, worker from Rs 255 to Rs 450 per day, part-time sweeper (others) from Rs 240 to Rs 420 per day, and domestic work from Rs 30 to Rs 53 per hour for tasks like sweeping, swabbing, dusting, washing utensils, and washing clothes, and from Rs 35 to Rs 62 per hour for cooking, baby care, and old age care.

Additionally, the cabinet approved upgrading seven accountant positions to senior accountants in the Rural Engineering Department for the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RD and PR) Department. The amendment of the ‘Retired Chief Justices and Retired Judges of the High Court of Manipur (Assistance and Facilities) Rule, 2020’ was also sanctioned.