Lok Sabha Question No. 1603 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-09
Subject: Deletion of MGNREGS Workers
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri V K Sreekandan, Shri Suresh Kumar Shetkar, Shri Vijayakumar Alias Vijay Vasanth

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1603

## ANSWERED ON 09/12/2025

## DELETION OF MGNREGS WORKERS

## 1603. Shri Vijayakumar Alias Vijay Vasanth:

Shri V K Sreekandan:

Shri Suresh Kumar Shetkar:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the Government  confirms  deleting nearly  twenty seven lakh Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee  Scheme  (MGNREGS)  workers  between  October  10 and  November  14,  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  if  not,  the reasons therefor;
- (b) whether the Government acknowledges mass deletions coincided  with  aggressive  e-KYC  enforcement,  if  not,  the reasons for denying correlation despite clear timing and widespread worker exclusion reports;
- (c) whether the Government examined why one month's deletions nearly doubled the previous six months' total, if so, the findings thereof and if not, the reasons for failing to investigate;
- (d) whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  over  six  lakh  deleted persons were active MGNREGS workers, if so, the justification for removal and if not, the reasons for failing to identify active beneficiaries;
- (e) whether the Government would explain why States with higher e-KYC completion rates show disproportionate deletions, if so, the  details  thereof  and  if  not,  the  reasons  for  such  patterns remain unaddressed;
- (f) whether  the  National Mobile Monitoring System  used  for digitally  capturing  attendance  of  workers  and  the  Aadhaar Based  Payment  System  used  for disbursing  wages  have already excluded an estimated two core workers from accessing their legal entitlements under the MGNREGS;
- (g) whether  the  net  additions  had  fallen  to  66.5  lakh  by  midNovember,  2025,  effectively  wiping  out  17  lakh  workers  in  a single month; and
- (h) if so, the details thereof?

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## ANSWER (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

(a)to (e): Mahatma Gandhi NREGS is a demand-driven wage employment scheme and the responsibility of implementation of the Scheme  is  vested  with  the  Government  of  concerned  States/UTs. Updation/deletion of Job Cards is a regular exercise conducted by the States/UTs. Job cards have been deleted mainly for the reasons such as fake/duplicate/incorrect job cards, family shifted from Gram Panchayat  permanently, Gram  Panchayat  classified  as  Urban  and there was only one member in the job card and he/she has expired etc. However, while deleting/ removing workers/Job cards, States/UTs  have  to  ensure  compliance  with  provisions  of  the  Act and  the  Standard  Operating  Procedure  issued  by  the  Ministry  to ensure  that  no  job  card  of  deserving  or  eligible  household  is deleted/cancelled. As per NREGASoft, a total of 16.31 lakh workers were deleted between 10 October and 14 November 2025.

To streamline the process of deletion of Job cards, Ministry of Rural  Development  had  issued  a  Standard  Operating  Procedure (SOP)  vide  letter  dated  25.01.2025  to  all  States/Union  Territories, with clear guidelines for deletion and restoration of job cards. The SOP ensures compliance with the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS guidelines,  promotes  transparency,  protects  the  rights  of  workers by defining conditions for deletion, setting up a grievance redressal mechanism, and ensure the settlement of pending liabilities if any before deletion/cancellation.

The  SOP  emphasizes  the  importance  of  due  process,  including the  publication  of  draft  lists  of  job  cards  marked  for  deletion, verification  at  Gram  Sabhas,  and  the  right  of  appeal  for  affected workers. It also mandates the linking of job cards with Aadhaar to eliminate  duplicate  and  fraudulent  entries.  These  measures  are aimed at preventing misuse of job cards while ensuring that genuine beneficiaries are not excluded.  The  Ministry is  committed  to maintaining  the  integrity  of  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS  and  ensuring that the benefits of the scheme reaches the eligible rural households.

(f): To ensure transparency and accountability in the implementation  of  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural Employment Guarantee  Scheme (Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS),  the  Ministry  has decided that States/UTs shall ensure capturing of attendance at the

worksite  through  National  Mobile  Monitoring  System  (NMMS)  App with two-time stamped, geo-tagged photographs of the workers in a day for all  the  works  (except  Individual  Beneficiary  Work)  through NMMS w.e.f. 1st January, 2023.

Further,  in  order  to  ensure  timely  payment  of  wages  to  the beneficiaries  under  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment Guarantee  Scheme  (Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS) and  to  address  the issues arising due to frequent changes in bank account numbers of the beneficiaries  and  subsequent  non-updation,  it  was  decided to implement Aadhar Payment Bridge System (APBS). This has been made mandatory with effect from 1 st  January 2024.

It is stated that Job cards can not be deleted due to reasons of NMMS and non-linking of bank accounts with Aadhar or e-KYC.

(g)&(h):   As  per  NREGASoft,  during  FY  2025-26  (as  on  05.12.2025), States/UTs deleted a total of 54.02 lakh workers, while 118.57 lakh new workers were added during the same period.

*****