Over 39 lakh workers deleted from MGNREGA rolls in last five months: NGO report

According to a report by the civil society group LibTech India, between April and September 2024, more than 39 lakh registered workers were kicked out of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Over eight crore workers were removed from the MGNREGA registration in the fiscal years 2022–2023 and 2023–2024, according to the data. It showed that failure to comply with obligatory Aadhaar seeding resulted in over 6.7 crore workers losing their eligibility for the rural job initiative.Aadhaar-based Payment System (ABPS) benefits remained inaccessible to 4.2% of active workers and 27.4% of all MGNREGA workers despite extensions," the report said. ABPS was required by the Centre in January 2023 and has been mandatory from January 1, 2024.

Disparities by state surfaced, with Assam having the largest proportion of active, unqualified workers. The report also reported that the overall number of employment possibilities under MGNREGS decreased from 184 crore to 154 crore person-days, a 16.6% decrease. It noted that "this drop suggests a shrinking participation base and delivery shortfalls." Concerns over erroneous deletions were also brought up in the study, which emphasised the necessity of assistance, especially in West Bengal, where MGNREGA operations had been halted since December 2021 because of persistent legal problems.