NEW DELHI, Dec 3: The government announced that an average of 60 lakh new job cards are issued each year under the MGNREGS, clarifying that the deletion of job cards occurs based on various criteria, with no involvement from the government.
Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Rural Development, informed the Lok Sabha that 57% of the rural development budget is dedicated to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and emphasized that Aadhaar-based verification of the cards promotes transparency.
This statement was in response to Congress leader K C Venugopal, who alleged that over 10.43 crore MGNREGS workers had their names removed in the past four years.
Venugopal also inquired whether these removals were connected to the Aadhaar-seeding requirement.
“Ninety-nine percent of job cardholders have completed Aadhaar seeding. This process is designed to enhance transparency and is not a barrier,” the minister stated during the Question Hour.
Pemmasani elaborated that job card deletions are influenced by five factors, including instances of fake or duplicate cards and individuals relocating between panchayats.
Job cards may also be removed in cases of a cardholder’s death, their decision not to participate in the scheme, or if their area transitions from rural to urban, he explained.
The minister reassured that the responsibility for deleting job cards lies with state governments, asserting that the central government does not play any role in such deletions.
He provided statistics indicating that, on average, 60 lakh new job cards are issued annually, while approximately 30 lakh are deleted for various reasons. The total number of job cards is around 13-14 crore, with approximately 9.2 crore currently active.
(Agencies)
