New Delhi: Over eight crore registered workers were deleted from the Centre’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (MGNREGS) in the past two years, with 20.47 percent deleted in thefinancial year 2022-23 — the highest in the past five years — according to a report by civil society organisations LibTech India and NREGA Sangharsh Morcha released Tuesday.
The study points to an “unprecedented” increase in the reduction of registered workers from 1.83 percent in 2019-2020 to 20.47 percent in 2022-23. Just 4.24 percent new workers were included in 2022-23. In 2023-24, 9.87 percent workers were deleted while 4.18 percent were added.
The report ‘Unpacking MGNREGA: Five years of implementation and challenges 2019-2024’ attributed this to the changes made in the scheme’s implementation, especially the Narendra Modi government’s push towards the use of technology. The report also highlighted the adverse impact of gradual budget cuts by for this employment plan, resulting in a delay in the payment of wages.
In January 2023, the Centre pushed for mandatory use of the National Mobile Monitoring System (which was introduced in 2021) and Aadhaar Based Payment System (ABPS, introduced in 2017) for marking attendance and the payment of wages respectively. Some relaxation was given following protests by civil society members and concerns raised by state governments. Since 1 January, 2024, the Union rural development ministry has made ABPS mandatory for payment of wages.
Rahul Mukkera, senior researcher at LibTech India (a non-profit organisation working on MGNREGS-related issues), said, “Over the past five years, MGNREGS workers have faced significant challenges due to the Union government’s techno-centric policies, such as mandatory ABPS and the introduction of an attendance app.”
He added, “These measures were implemented without adequately training officials… unreasonable targets were imposed on local officials for ABPS, leading to the deletion of over 8 crore workers in the last two years. The lack of consultation with workers and civil society organisations has exacerbated job losses and increased hardships.”
The report said mandatory implementation of ABPS has “contributed significantly” in the large-scale deletion of workers, and a large number of them were still ineligible to demand work.
Four months after ABPS was made mandatory, only 69 percent of all registered workers and 92 percent of active workers – a person who has worked even for a day in the past three years is considered an active worker — were eligible for ABPS payments till April this year, the report said.
ThePrint has reached the rural development ministry for a comment. The report will be updated when a response is received.
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Budget cut despite demand for work
In the past few years, the Modi government has slashed the budgetary allocation to the rural employment scheme despite a gradual increase in the demand for work, civil society members said.
In the interim budget for 2024-2025, the government allocated Rs 86,000 crore. In 2023, the government had slashed the budget for MGNREGS by 33 percent to Rs 60,000 crore from the revised estimate of Rs 98,000 crore for the previous financial year. The budget was later revised to Rs 86,000 crore.
The scheme relies predominantly on funding from the Centre, which accounts for 90 percent of its allocation. The budget cut, experts said, resulted in delays in payments to workers. “The cuts also hindered program outcomes,” Mukkera added.
Speaking about problems faced by workers, Om Prakash, a worker in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur, said, “Most people have to wait for months to get payment. Due to delay in payments, many looked for other opportunities. The government should fix this problem at the earliest.”
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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