Assam: Over 8.66 Lakh MGNREGS Job Cards Deleted Since 2019 Due to Fake and Duplicate Entries

Guwahati: It is a matter worth pondering over that more than 8.66 lakh job cards under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) have been deleted till date in Assam since the 2019–20 financial year (FY). The fact was revealed on the floor of the Rajya Sabha when the Minister of State for Rural Development, Kamlesh Paswan, submitted a written reply in response to a question posed by MP Mukul Balkrishna Wasnik.

According to the revelation made by the Minister, the job cards were deleted because there were fake job cards, duplicate job cards, and in cases where households were not willing to work, etc.

In a written statement before the House, the Minister stated, “Implementation of the scheme is the responsibility of the state, and several provisions for proper implementation have been provided in the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS. Verification of Job Cards is a regular exercise conducted by the states and UTs. Job cards can be cancelled or deleted after due verification only if they are: (i) fake job cards (incorrect job cards), (ii) duplicate job cards, (iii) households not willing to work, (iv) families shifted from Gram Panchayat permanently, and (v) single people in job card and that person has expired.”

The reply by the minister also included financial year-wise numbers of card deletions. For the state of Assam, in FY 2019–20, there were 65,703 cards deleted; in 2020–21, there were 96,628 cards; in 2021–22, there were 76,257; in 2022–23, the number was 1,57,919; in 2023–24, the total was 2,83,042; and in 2024–25 (till date), there were 1,86,849 job cards deleted. So, since 2019–20 FY, altogether 8,66,398 MGNREGS job cards in Assam were deleted.

A source at the state Panchayat & Rural Development Department said that job cards under MGNREGS are monitored at ground level to determine the authenticity of the cards. It was seen in many cases that the person in whose name the card was issued is already expired. In others, it was noticed that job cards exist, but the cardholders have not worked for a long time. These and other reasons are behind the move to delete the job cards.

The Union Minister of State also mentioned the other states where MGNREGS job cards were deleted, along with the financial year-wise number of deletions.

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