Rs 80 then, Rs 45 now, complain villagers Dindigul VILLAGERS who are the beneficiaries of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) are complaining that the wages paid to them have been gradually reduced, much to their disappointment. On Friday last, about 3,000 workers, led by Balabarathi, MLA, resorted to picketing in Dindigul. On Monday, the villagers of Chettinayakkanpatti came to the collectorate in large numbers to submit a petition against the low wages being paid to them under the programme. They said that originally, the daily wages they received was Rs 80 but it was reduced to Rs 70 and 65 and finally now they were paid only Rs 45 as wages. They wanted the District Collector to intervene and ensure that they are paid the stipulated wage of Rs 80 per day. Meanwhile, the authorities claim that the wages were paid according to the quantum of work performed. The quantum of work was assessed and the workers paid accordingly, they said. Workers, on the other hand argue that the officials were adopting impossible measures to assess the quantum of work done by them, in order to deny them the guaranteed wages.