Lok Sabha Question No. 606 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-03
Subject: Deletion of Job Cards
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Kalyan Banerjee, Shri Lalji Verma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 606 ANSWERED ON 03/02/2026

## DELETION OF JOB CARDS

## 606.  Shri LaljiVerma:

Shri Kalyan Banerjee:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the  total  number  of  job  cards  removed  under  the  Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) from the  financial year 2019-20 to 2024-25 along with the reasons for removal, State and year-wise;
- (b) the details of workers removed for the period from 2019-20 to 2023-24 for reluctance to work, State and year-wise particularly  in  Ambedkar  Nagar  LokSabha  Constituency  of Uttar Pradesh;
- (c) whether the Government has issued any guidelines for reinstatement of wrongly removed job cards or labourers, if so, the details of process prescribed for reinstatement of genuine beneficiaries and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whetherAadhaar-based payment or authentication compliance has  resulted  in  exclusion  of  eligible  beneficiaries,  if  so,  the details thereof, State-wise; and
- (e) the  details  of  grievance  redressal  mechanism  available  for wrongful deletions and the number of grievances resolved?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

(a) to (c): Under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee  Scheme  (Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS)  updation/deletion  of Job Cards is a regular exercise undertaken by the States/UTs. Job cards are 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 name in the job card he/she has expired etc.

To streamline the process of deletion of Job cards, Ministry of Rural  Development  has  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. Here it is stated that as per guidelines issued by this Department name of worker cannot be removed for the reason of reluctance to work.

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.

States/UTs-wise  number  of  job  cards  deleted from  Mahatma Gandhi  NREGS  since  2019-20  to  2024-25  is  given  at  Annexure-I. Further, State/Union Territory (UT)-wise details of number of workers  deleted  from  job  cards  under  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS during the financial years 2019-20 to 2023-24 are given at AnnexureII.

Note:  As  per  NREGASoft,  during  the  FY  2019-20  to  2024-25,  total number  of  job  cards  deleted  by  the  States/UTs  was  457.97  Lakh while,  in  the  same  period  total  number  of  job  cards  added  by  the States/UTs was 653.72 Lakh.

Number of workers deleted from job cards in Ambedkar Nagar and Ayodhya district of Uttar Pradesh part of which is in Ambedkar Nagar  LokSabha  Constituency  during  the  same  period  are  given below:

| District       |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |   2021-22 |   2022-23 |   2023-24 |
|----------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Ambedkar Nagar |      4757 |      5384 |      7934 |    150137 |    109539 |
| Ayodhya        |       719 |      1976 |      1684 |     44361 |     62877 |
| Total          |      5476 |      7360 |      9618 |    194498 |    172416 |

(d):    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 AadharPayment Bridge System (APBS). This has been made mandatory with effect from 1 st  January 2024. Here, it is stated that of  eligible  beneficiaries  cannot  be  excluded  due  to  reason  of  nonlinking of bank accounts with Aadhar.

(e): The Annual Master Circular provides for a dedicated Grievance Redressal  Module  in  NREGASoft,  which  allows  workers/citizens  to lodge complaints  and  track  responses,  in addition to written complaints,  telephone  helplines  and  entries  in  the  'Complaint Register'  (one  of  the  seven  mandatory  registers  at  GP  level). The Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS)  is  one  of  the  major  grievance  redressal  mechanisms available for lodging complaint.

*****

Annexure-I of

Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) to (c) LokSabhaUnstarred Question No. 606 dated 03.02.2026.

| States/UTs-wise number of job cards deleted from Mahatma Gandhi NREGS   | States/UTs-wise number of job cards deleted from Mahatma Gandhi NREGS   | States/UTs-wise number of job cards deleted from Mahatma Gandhi NREGS   | States/UTs-wise number of job cards deleted from Mahatma Gandhi NREGS   | States/UTs-wise number of job cards deleted from Mahatma Gandhi NREGS   | States/UTs-wise number of job cards deleted from Mahatma Gandhi NREGS   | States/UTs-wise number of job cards deleted from Mahatma Gandhi NREGS   | States/UTs-wise number of job cards deleted from Mahatma Gandhi NREGS   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| SI. No.                                                                 | State                                                                   |                                                                         | Number                                                                  | of                                                                      | Job-Card                                                                | deleted                                                                 |                                                                         |
|                                                                         |                                                                         | 2019- 20                                                                | 2020- 21                                                                | 2021- 22                                                                | 2022-23                                                                 | 2023-24                                                                 | 2024-25                                                                 |
| 1                                                                       | Andhra Pradesh                                                          | 24248                                                                   | 3426                                                                    | 185079                                                                  | 2882724                                                                 | 370326                                                                  | 148478                                                                  |
| 2                                                                       | Arunachal Pradesh                                                       | 7311                                                                    | 6151                                                                    | 9596                                                                    | 8875                                                                    | 12869                                                                   | 15651                                                                   |
| 3                                                                       | Assam                                                                   | 65699                                                                   | 96586                                                                   | 76244                                                                   | 157138                                                                  | 282142                                                                  | 576220                                                                  |
| 4                                                                       | Bihar                                                                   | 77290                                                                   | 182407                                                                  | 1273514                                                                 | 5870225                                                                 | 2112092                                                                 | 981284                                                                  |
| 5                                                                       | Chhattisgarh                                                            | 129658                                                                  | 170304                                                                  | 139660                                                                  | 264839                                                                  | 294544                                                                  | 399026                                                                  |
| 6                                                                       | Goa                                                                     | 1                                                                       | 8                                                                       | 11                                                                      | 21                                                                      | 24                                                                      | 53                                                                      |
| 7                                                                       | Gujarat                                                                 | 40314                                                                   | 131080                                                                  | 40289                                                                   | 146141                                                                  | 338533                                                                  | 53616                                                                   |
| 8                                                                       | Haryana                                                                 | 5083                                                                    | 15413                                                                   | 8531                                                                    | 11028                                                                   | 8834                                                                    | 6237                                                                    |
| 9                                                                       | Himachal Pradesh                                                        | 4057                                                                    | 8000                                                                    | 10351                                                                   | 18119                                                                   | 15543                                                                   | 4559                                                                    |
| 10                                                                      | Jammu And Kashmir                                                       | 33032                                                                   | 94078                                                                   | 37635                                                                   | 38388                                                                   | 73015                                                                   | 30123                                                                   |
| 11                                                                      | Jharkhand                                                               | 50568                                                                   | 89427                                                                   | 228674                                                                  | 954252                                                                  | 324524                                                                  | 176956                                                                  |
| 12                                                                      | Karnataka                                                               | 27534                                                                   | 7197                                                                    | 41843                                                                   | 203185                                                                  | 96036                                                                   | 27286                                                                   |
| 13                                                                      | Kerala                                                                  | 17725                                                                   | 23773                                                                   | 27340                                                                   | 110722                                                                  | 218752                                                                  | 89300                                                                   |
| 14                                                                      | Ladakh                                                                  | 675                                                                     | 1336                                                                    | 889                                                                     | 1421                                                                    | 897                                                                     | 452                                                                     |
| 15                                                                      | Madhya Pradesh                                                          | 513979                                                                  | 1062861                                                                 | 1100109                                                                 | 366349                                                                  | 695278                                                                  | 51890                                                                   |
| 16                                                                      | Maharashtra                                                             | 22105                                                                   | 48460                                                                   | 28201                                                                   | 72863                                                                   | 37625                                                                   | 26449                                                                   |
| 17                                                                      | Manipur                                                                 | 3961                                                                    | 11126                                                                   | 4449                                                                    | 3153                                                                    | 5778                                                                    | 6395                                                                    |
| 18                                                                      | Meghalaya                                                               | 8017                                                                    | 8119                                                                    | 5449                                                                    | 3832                                                                    | 15375                                                                   | 13181                                                                   |
| 19                                                                      | Mizoram                                                                 | 6607                                                                    | 9896                                                                    | 8580                                                                    | 4149                                                                    | 4902                                                                    | 9988                                                                    |
| 20                                                                      | Nagaland                                                                | 9999                                                                    | 1136                                                                    | 1797                                                                    | 2528                                                                    | 3759                                                                    | 8999                                                                    |
| 21                                                                      | Odisha                                                                  | 121028                                                                  | 313621                                                                  | 793292                                                                  | 2370031                                                                 | 523622                                                                  | 286009                                                                  |
| 22                                                                      | Punjab                                                                  | 16675                                                                   | 14330                                                                   | 65858                                                                   | 340659                                                                  | 69225                                                                   | 20981                                                                   |
| 23                                                                      | Rajasthan                                                               | 80406                                                                   | 117660                                                                  | 129285                                                                  | 634800                                                                  | 393797                                                                  | 55563                                                                   |
| 24                                                                      | Sikkim                                                                  | 1302                                                                    | 784                                                                     | 1343                                                                    | 1409                                                                    | 2133                                                                    | 1969                                                                    |
| 25                                                                      | Tamil Nadu                                                              | 33148                                                                   | 126017                                                                  | 155065                                                                  | 315049                                                                  | 653677                                                                  | 633820                                                                  |
| 26                                                                      | Telangana                                                               | 4084                                                                    | 5282                                                                    | 15976                                                                   | 510683                                                                  | 84744                                                                   | 80166                                                                   |
| 27                                                                      | Tripura                                                                 | 8571                                                                    | 8684                                                                    | 5951                                                                    | 5938                                                                    | 20798                                                                   | 8742                                                                    |
| 28                                                                      | Uttar Pradesh                                                           | 99849                                                                   | 201871                                                                  | 582074                                                                  | 4858064                                                                 | 3315158                                                                 | 91568                                                                   |
| 29                                                                      | Uttarakhand                                                             | 7370                                                                    | 16508                                                                   | 26004                                                                   | 148098                                                                  | 44229                                                                   | 45150                                                                   |
| 30                                                                      | West Bengal                                                             | 10554                                                                   | 19374                                                                   | 27741                                                                   | 2177536                                                                 | 169691                                                                  | 9026                                                                    |
| 31                                                                      | Andaman And Nicobar                                                     | 1930                                                                    | 1528                                                                    | 448                                                                     | 143                                                                     | 70                                                                      | 308                                                                     |
| 32                                                                      | Dn Haveli And Dd                                                        | 0                                                                       | 0                                                                       | 0                                                                       | 0                                                                       | 2                                                                       | 14                                                                      |
| 33                                                                      | Lakshadweep                                                             | 2                                                                       | 1                                                                       | 8                                                                       | 18                                                                      | 52                                                                      | 37                                                                      |
| 34                                                                      | Puducherry                                                              | 126                                                                     | 245                                                                     | 258                                                                     | 4394                                                                    | 606                                                                     | 480                                                                     |
|                                                                         | Total                                                                   | 1432908                                                                 | 2796689                                                                 |                                                                         | 50315442248677410188652                                                 |                                                                         | 3859976                                                                 |

| State/Union Territory(UT)-wise number of workers deleted from job cards   | State/Union Territory(UT)-wise number of workers deleted from job cards   | State/Union Territory(UT)-wise number of workers deleted from job cards   | State/Union Territory(UT)-wise number of workers deleted from job cards   | State/Union Territory(UT)-wise number of workers deleted from job cards   | State/Union Territory(UT)-wise number of workers deleted from job cards   | State/Union Territory(UT)-wise number of workers deleted from job cards   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| SI.                                                                       |                                                                           | Number of workers deleted                                                 | Number of workers deleted                                                 | Number of workers deleted                                                 | Number of workers deleted                                                 | Number of workers deleted                                                 |
| No.                                                                       | State                                                                     | 2019-20                                                                   | 2020-21                                                                   | 2021-22                                                                   | 2022-23                                                                   | 2023-24                                                                   |
| 1                                                                         | Andhra Pradesh                                                            | 211267                                                                    | 181014                                                                    | 618582                                                                    | 7517856                                                                   | 1096736                                                                   |
| 2                                                                         | Arunachal Pradesh                                                         | 28621                                                                     | 23422                                                                     | 35053                                                                     | 34433                                                                     | 58257                                                                     |
| 3                                                                         | Assam                                                                     | 227261                                                                    | 268422                                                                    | 345666                                                                    | 608253                                                                    | 792138                                                                    |
| 4                                                                         | Bihar                                                                     | 147381                                                                    | 267823                                                                    | 2002521                                                                   | 8900402                                                                   | 3178680                                                                   |
| 5                                                                         | Chhattisgarh                                                              | 501629                                                                    | 639811                                                                    | 540686                                                                    | 1186037                                                                   | 1395412                                                                   |
| 6                                                                         | Goa                                                                       | 2                                                                         | 14                                                                        | 22                                                                        | 24                                                                        | 34                                                                        |
| 7                                                                         | Gujarat                                                                   | 154654                                                                    | 435435                                                                    | 143195                                                                    | 559478                                                                    | 975994                                                                    |
| 8                                                                         | Haryana                                                                   | 14281                                                                     | 30479                                                                     | 17023                                                                     | 17997                                                                     | 18939                                                                     |
| 9                                                                         | Himachal Pradesh                                                          | 18855                                                                     | 34197                                                                     | 45819                                                                     | 78439                                                                     | 77015                                                                     |
| 10                                                                        | Jammu And Kashmir                                                         | 92619                                                                     | 255607                                                                    | 112814                                                                    | 107120                                                                    | 212281                                                                    |
| 11                                                                        | Jharkhand                                                                 | 109402                                                                    | 182440                                                                    | 462251                                                                    | 2030163                                                                   | 654727                                                                    |
| 12                                                                        | Karnataka                                                                 | 123550                                                                    | 57101                                                                     | 250665                                                                    | 855967                                                                    | 547661                                                                    |
| 13                                                                        | Kerala                                                                    | 49287                                                                     | 55289                                                                     | 72189                                                                     | 348598                                                                    | 540033                                                                    |
| 14                                                                        | Ladakh                                                                    | 2480                                                                      | 3303                                                                      | 2686                                                                      | 7130                                                                      | 3209                                                                      |
| 15                                                                        | Madhya Pradesh                                                            | 1813001                                                                   | 3823679                                                                   | 4540607                                                                   | 1471373                                                                   | 2698235                                                                   |
| 16                                                                        | Maharashtra                                                               | 98526                                                                     | 210868                                                                    | 229270                                                                    | 428628                                                                    | 227851                                                                    |
| 17                                                                        | Manipur                                                                   | 29830                                                                     | 64315                                                                     | 54240                                                                     | 90027                                                                     | 127349                                                                    |
| 18                                                                        | Meghalaya                                                                 | 34042                                                                     | 31556                                                                     | 20707                                                                     | 20466                                                                     | 118486                                                                    |
| 19                                                                        | Mizoram                                                                   | 31245                                                                     | 35061                                                                     | 20414                                                                     | 10269                                                                     | 15010                                                                     |
| 20                                                                        | Nagaland                                                                  | 41988                                                                     | 4934                                                                      | 7630                                                                      | 15155                                                                     | 21754                                                                     |
| 21                                                                        | Odisha                                                                    | 441314                                                                    | 1097748                                                                   | 2605164                                                                   | 7686413                                                                   | 1499868                                                                   |
| 22                                                                        | Punjab                                                                    | 35200                                                                     | 33095                                                                     | 128296                                                                    | 598046                                                                    | 127741                                                                    |
| 23                                                                        | Rajasthan                                                                 | 537168                                                                    | 818142                                                                    | 793487                                                                    | 3046893                                                                   | 2151059                                                                   |
| 24                                                                        | Sikkim                                                                    | 3638                                                                      | 3122                                                                      | 4623                                                                      | 4528                                                                      | 8792                                                                      |
| 25                                                                        | Tamil Nadu                                                                | 121125                                                                    | 417563                                                                    | 440825                                                                    | 782200                                                                    | 1690416                                                                   |
| 26                                                                        | Telangana                                                                 | 11135                                                                     | 129577                                                                    | 61278                                                                     | 1723810                                                                   | 302478                                                                    |
| 27                                                                        | Tripura                                                                   | 29185                                                                     | 35817                                                                     | 29874                                                                     | 37486                                                                     | 103710                                                                    |
| 28                                                                        | Uttar Pradesh                                                             | 202170                                                                    | 398460                                                                    | 1097908                                                                   | 8024982                                                                   | 5600653                                                                   |
| 29                                                                        | Uttarakhand                                                               | 18523                                                                     | 48363                                                                     | 66235                                                                     | 355786                                                                    | 124556                                                                    |
| 30                                                                        | West Bengal                                                               | 93725                                                                     | 130301                                                                    | 157309                                                                    | 8340066                                                                   | 603689                                                                    |
| 31                                                                        | Andaman and Nicobar                                                       | 3394                                                                      | 3324                                                                      | 909                                                                       | 320                                                                       | 190                                                                       |
| 32                                                                        | Dn Haveli And Dd                                                          | 0                                                                         | 0                                                                         | 0                                                                         | 0                                                                         | 145                                                                       |
| 33                                                                        | Lakshadweep                                                               | 2                                                                         | 2                                                                         | 11                                                                        | 63                                                                        | 86                                                                        |
| 34                                                                        | Puducherry                                                                | 683                                                                       | 1374                                                                      | 1865                                                                      | 49528                                                                     | 2068                                                                      |
|                                                                           | Total                                                                     | 5227183                                                                   | 9721658                                                                   | 14909824                                                                  |                                                                           | 24975252                                                                  |
| 54937936                                                                  | 54937936                                                                  | 54937936                                                                  | 54937936                                                                  | 54937936                                                                  | 54937936                                                                  | 54937936                                                                  |

*****