New Delhi: Several states — especially those in the northeast — are racing against time to meet the central government’s 1 July deadline to switch completely to the Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS) for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) payments, government data shows.
The Modi government introduced the ABPS in 2017 in a bid to ensure “timely payments of wages” to NREGA workers and also make the payment system transparent. Under the new system, a worker’s Aadhaar number is linked to a bank account, which in turn should be connected to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
The NPCI is an umbrella retail payment organisation launched by the RBI in 2008.
On 30 January this year, the government issued an order making the system compulsory from 1 February, before extending the deadline twice on request by state governments, first to 1 April and then 1 July.
However, as on 31 May, only 75 percent of the total active NREGA workers in the country are eligible for the ABPS, according to the MGNREGA portal. The data also shows that in as many as 15 states — including Meghalaya, Nagaland, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh — the number is even less.
According to the government’s definition, an active worker is one who has worked even one day in the past three financial years. The portal shows that there are a total of 14.35 crore active workers under NREGA.
Some states have now asked the ministry to extend the deadline further, including Meghalaya.
“It’s practically not possible to complete the ABPS process by the end of June. We have raised the matter with the central government and also requested that the deadline should be extended,” Iaraphunlin Diengdoh, joint mission director of Meghalaya government’s State Rural Employment Society — the nodal agency for implementing the MGNREGA in the state — told ThePrint. “The matter was also raised at a recent review meeting by the rural development ministry in May.”
ThePrint reached the spokesperson of the rural development ministry, under which the employment guarantee scheme comes, by text to ask if an extension was on the anvil. This report will be updated when a response is received.
But a senior ministry official who’s privy to the developments told ThePrint that there’s currently no plan to extend the deadline.
“We have received a request for further extension of the deadline but we will review the situation and the progress made till June-end on a state-wise basis. The plan is to switch to ABPS but without hampering the payment of workers,” the official said on the condition of anonymity.
Another senior government official said the ministry had asked states to expedite the process to meet the 1 July deadline at the review meeting held earlier this month.
“A lot of states have made good progress. In the northeast, the number is low and we have taken up the matter with state governments,” the senior ministry official told ThePrint on the condition of anonymity “We hope that it will be completed in a month’s time.”
However, labour activists believe it’s “impossible” to meet the deadline, and say the government needs to explain what happens to workers who are not ABPS-enabled from 1 July.
Currently, apart from the ABPS, NREGA workers get paid through the National Automated Clearing House (NACH), a system developed by the NPCI for banks.
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ABPS and its challenges
According to the MGNREGA portal, just 3.1 percent of the total active NREGA workers are eligible for ABPS payment in Meghalaya as on 31 May.
The number is higher in Nagaland (20.6 percent), Assam (34.8 percent) and Arunachal Pradesh (54.7 percent).
Even large states such as Uttar Pradesh (1.5 crore active workers) and Rajasthan (1.3 crore active workers, enrolment) have yet to touch 100 percent, the data shows, with their enrolment at 62.9 percent and 76.8 percent, respectively.
State government officials say they are facing multiple issues vis-a-vis ABPS enrolment, ranging from workers not having Aadhaar cards to issues in linking it to bank accounts.
From organising camps, going door-to-door to collect workers’ information and even asking banks to expedite the process, states are using various methods to meet the deadline.
Despite these efforts, however, it would be a difficult task, mainly because of the practical difficulties involved in the enrolment process, said Diengdoh, the Meghalaya official quoted earlier.
“There are multiple problems with the APBS process. First, Aadhaar enrolment in rural areas is very low, as people are apprehensive about it. Second, the ABPS requires NREGA workers to get their Aadhaar linked to their bank accounts and we don’t have proper banking facilities in remote areas such as South Garo Hills, East Jaintia Hills, South West Khasi Hills, etc,” Diengdoh said.
Meghalaya’s terrain makes it difficult for people to opt for banking facilities, she said.
“People have to walk 30-40 km to reach the bank and it takes them numerous trips to the banks for linking their Aadhaar to the bank accounts. Even to carry out Aadhaar enrolment, they have to travel the same distances… To get their Aadhaar linked to the bank is a difficult task for most workers,” she added.
Meanwhile, in Assam, state government officials are confident of making the deadline.
Bikram Kairi, Assam Panchayat and Rural Development commissioner, told ThePrint: “The Aadhaar enrolment started late due to which not many people, especially in the rural areas, had Aadhaar. But things have improved now and coverage is almost 100 percent”.
In order to meet the 1 July deadline, the state government has stepped up its enrolment process.
“…We have stepped up the activities on ground to ensure that the process is complete for all active workers by the end of next month,” Kairi said. “We have a big network of people working in rural areas who are collecting the Aadhaar details from households and sending them for National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) mapping. We will complete the process in time.”
Mapping is the process of linking one’s bank with the Aadhaar number. The process is facilitated by the NPCI.
Not ‘worker-friendly’
In 2021, the central government introduced the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS), a mobile application that allows authorities to capture the attendance at MGNREGA worksites.
The system was made mandatory from 1 January but labour activists have objected to it, claiming that it has wreaked havoc.
Activists say both NMMS and ABPS put a burden on workers and even undermine the employee guarantee scheme.
“We are not against reforms, but the objective, the method, and the outcome should strengthen basic implementation, not hamper it,” said labour activist Nikhil Dey of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) and NREGA Sangharsh Morcha. “We have raised the matter with the ministry. We want the system of Direct Benefit Transfer and (want) the physical muster roll to continue as the law requires, so that workers don’t suffer.”
In addition, there’s no clarity on what will happen after the 30 June deadline, said Laavanya Tamang, a researcher at LibTech India, a research organisation working on issues related to public service delivery.
“What happens to workers who are not ABPS-enabled? The Aadhaar enrolment and ABPS eligibility in the northeast is low. What happens to these workers? Does it mean that they will not get work or get paid after 30 June?” Tamang asked.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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