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Context:

Arbitrary worker removals under MGNREGA compromise the program's transparency and workers' legal right to Work

About MGNREGA

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) ensures that every rural household has the legal right to work 100 days per year. Each household receives a job card containing the names of all registered adults, and no one can work under MGNREGA without one.

Schedule II of MGNREGA states that a worker's name may be removed from a job card if the Gram Panchayat discovers that they registered with false information. Before being deleted, the worker must be given the opportunity to be heard in front of two independent individuals.

Guidelines for worker deletions

The Master Circular of 2021-22 specifies that job cards can only be deleted in the following cases:

• Permanent migration of the household
• The job card is found to be a duplicate
• The job card was issued based on forged documents 
• If a Gram Panchayat becomes a Municipal Corporation, all job cards in that panchayat are deleted.

MGNREGA Management Information System (MIS)

The MGNREGA MIS includes dropdown options with 12 reasons for deleting workers or job cards, such as "Duplicate Applicant," "Fake Applicant," or "Not willing to work." All deletions are documented, reported to the Gram Sabha/Ward Sabha, and entered into the MIS.

Trend in worker deletions

The number of worker removals has increased significantly in recent years. In 2021-22, 1.49 crore workers were removed, while in 2022-23, the figure increased to 5.53 crore, a 247% increase. Over the last four years, a total of 10.43 crore workers have been removed.

What is the Connection between worker deletions and Aadhaar-based payment systems (ABPS)?

The increase in worker removals in 2022-23 aligned with the implementation of mandatory Aadhaar-based payment systems (ABPS) under MGNREGA. For ABPS to function, workers' Aadhaar numbers had to be linked to their job cards, which resulted in an increase in deletions as field officials rushed to meet this requirement.

Government response 

The Minister of State for Rural Development stated that updating and deleting job cards is a regular exercise carried out by States and Union Territories under MGNREGA to ensure accuracy and transparency.

Concerns regarding the deletion process

Concerns have been raised about the deletion process taking place without proper verification. 

Field study conducted by Economic and Political Weekly found that a significant number of workers were removed without the proper process of independent verification, mainly to increase ABPS compliance. Many deletions were made without informing workers or consulting with Gram Sabhas, as required by the Act.

Over 2.98 lakh workers' names were found to be deleted in a sample study of deletions in 21 states.  In many cases, workers were deleted without verification, and others were deleted for incorrect reasons, such as "Village becomes urban," which violated the Act's provisions.

Way Forward to prevent arbitrary deletions

Following the verification procedures outlined in the Act and Master Circulars.

Conducting independent audits and regular reviews.

Involving Gram Sabhas in the deletion process and ensuring workers' awareness of the deletions.

Training Gram Panchayats to conduct unbiased investigations.

Including employee representatives on decision-making panels.

Increasing transparency, accountability, and fairness through public consultations and grievance redressal systems.

Must Read Articles: 

MGNREGA PAYMENTS THROUGH THE AADHAAR PAYMENTS SYSTEM

AADHAAR-BASED PAYMENT SYSTEM

Source: 

The Hindu