According to a report published on Saturday by The Hindu, over 8.4 million workers from the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) had their names removed from the program between April and September 2024.
According to the findings, the net loss of workers between April and September was 3.9 million, based on a study undertaken by Lib Tech, an academic-activist alliance.
The reports estimate that while 8.4 million workers were removed from the initiative, over 4.5 million new workers were added.
According to the report, Tamil Nadu was the worst-impacted state. Tamil Nadu witnessed the highest percentage of workers removed at 14.7 percent.
Last year, Lib Tec reported that 80 million people were purged from the MGNREGS registration during the fiscal years 2022-23 and 2023-24.
The Hindu also cited Lib Tech's second analysis, which concluded that approximately 15% of these removals were incorrect.
The study reported that these deletions have coincided with the Centre’s push for the Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS).
Lib Tech’s analysis based on public data related to the program estimates that more than 27 percent of the registered workers are ineligible for APBS, prompting discouragement among workers from relying on the employment scheme. Reportedly, it has been contributing to increased migration from villages.
The report added that in October 2023 there were 143 million crore active workers with the scheme. However, a year-on-year analysis showed that this number dropped to 132 million in October, representing an 8 percent decline.
The Centre has made ABPS mandatory in January this year. On the issues, a ministry official said that the number of active workers changes every financial year.
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