The Lok Sabha was informed about the significant increase in the number of MGNREGA job card deletions in the financial year 2022-23 compared to the previous year. Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh provided a written reply outlining the reasons for the deletions, which included issues like fake job cards, duplicates, people opting out, relocations, and deaths.
Increase in MGNREGA Job Card Deletions:
In 2021-22, a total of 1,49,51,247 MGNREGA job cards were deleted.
However, in the financial year 2022-23, the number of deletions skyrocketed to 5,18,91,168 job cards, marking a staggering 247% increase.
States with High Deletion Numbers:
West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana witnessed the highest number of MGNREGA job card deletions.
In West Bengal, the number of deleted job cards surged by over 5,000% from 1,57,309 in 2021-22 to 83,36,115 in 2022-23.
Andhra Pradesh saw a significant increase of 1,147% in job card deletions, rising from 6,25,514 in 2021-22 to 78,05,569 in 2022-23.
Telangana experienced a substantial growth of 2,727% in job card deletions, escalating from 61,278 in 2021-22 to 17,32,936 in 2022-23.
Gujarat also witnessed a notable rise of over 200% in job card deletions, increasing from 1,43,202 workers’ cards in 2021-22 to 4,30,404 in 2022-23.
Reasons for Deletions:
The deletions of MGNREGA job cards were attributed to various reasons, including:
Fake job cards
Duplicate job cards
Workers not willing to work anymore
Families permanently shifting from the Gram Panchayat
Deceased workers
Inclusion of Youth in MGNREGA:
Responding to another question, Giriraj Singh stated that the number of people aged 18-30 years registered under the MGNREGA scheme increased from 2.95 crore in the financial year 2020-21 to 3.06 crore in 2022-23.
Representation of Women Workers:
In the financial year 2022-23, women constituted 57.43% of the MGNREGA workforce.
Key points about the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA):
Over 5 Crore MGNREGA Job Cards Deleted in 2022-23
Objective: MGNREGA was enacted in 2005 with the primary goal of enhancing livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
Legal Right: MGNREGA guarantees the right to work, making it a legal entitlement for rural households to demand employment under the scheme.
Scope: The scheme covers all rural areas across India, except for those in the Union Territories, ensuring widespread access to employment opportunities.
Employment Generation: MGNREGA aims to create durable assets and promote sustainable development while generating employment opportunities for rural workers.
Wage Payment: Workers employed under MGNREGA are entitled to receive wages directly from the government within 15 days of the completion of work.
Labor-intensive Projects: The scheme emphasizes labor-intensive projects, such as water conservation, irrigation, road construction, afforestation, and other activities that benefit the community.
Social Inclusion: MGNREGA has a special focus on the inclusion of marginalized groups, including women, Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and other vulnerable sections of society.
Planning and Implementation: The scheme is planned and implemented at the grassroots level through the Gram Panchayats, ensuring local ownership and participatory decision-making.
Fund Allocation: The Central government provides funds for MGNREGA, and the allocation is based on the poverty ratio and the wage rate index of each state.
Electronic Management System: To ensure transparency and accountability, MGNREGA uses an electronic management system to track and monitor the implementation of projects and wage payments.