1.55 cr MGNREGS workers’ names deleted: Govt

The names of more than 1.55 crore active workers have been deleted from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) between 2022 and 2024, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan said the names of 86,17,887 and 68,86,532 active workers have been deleted or cancelled during financial year 2022-23 and financial year 2023-24, respectively. The total number of the workers whose names have been deleted over the two financial years is 1,55,04,419.

The workers’ names have been deleted for reasons, such as fake or duplicate or incorrect job cards, families shifted out of gram panchayats permanently or if their villages have been classified as urban.

The minister said the responsibility of the scheme’s implementation is vested with the governments of the states and UTs concerned, adding that updating or deleting job cards is a regular exercise conducted by the states.