In the last two years, more than 1.55 crore (15.5 million) workers have had their names removed from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). This information was shared in Parliament on Tuesday by Kamlesh Paswan, the Minister of State for Rural Development.
He said that during the fiscal year 2022-23, 86,17,887 workers were deleted, and in 2023-24, another 68,86,532 workers lost their job cards. The total number of removed workers is 1,55,04,419 (or over 15 million).
The reasons for these deletions include fake or duplicated job cards, families moving away permanently, or villages being turned into urban areas. The minister explained that the responsibility for running the program lies with the state and Union territory governments, which regularly update or remove job cards. However, they must ensure that no deserving or eligible workers are mistakenly removed.
In another response, Paswan mentioned that out of 13.41 crore active workers, 13.34 crore (or 99.47%) have linked their Aadhaar numbers to their job cards, which helps to avoid fraud.
To help improve the process, the Ministry of Rural Development sent out new rules on January 25, guiding states on how to delete or restore job cards properly. These rules ensure that the deletions are fair, promote transparency, and protect workers’ rights. They also include steps for publishing a list of cards marked for deletion, verifying them in local meetings, and giving affected workers the chance to appeal.
By linking job cards with Aadhaar, the government aims to reduce fraud and ensure that only genuine beneficiaries receive benefits. The ministry aims to protect the integrity of MGNREGS, ensuring the program helps eligible rural households.
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