Over 4.43 crore MGNREGS job cards deleted in last five years: Govt

New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI) More than 4.43 crore MGNREGS job cards have been deleted since the 2019-20 fiscal, the government said on Friday.

Union Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan provided the information in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

A total of 4,43,04,661 (4.43 crore) Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) job cards were deleted between the 2019-20 and 2024-25 financial years, Paswan said.

"Verification of job cards is a regular exercise conducted by the states/Union Territories. Job cards can be cancelled/deleted after due verification only if it is a fake job card (incorrect job card); duplicate job card; households not willing to work; family shifted from gram panchayat permanently; and single person in job card and that person has expired," the minister said.

Of the total, 22,24,982 (22 lakh) job cards were deleted in 2024-25 till July 30 this year.

The minister said 1,02,71,048 (1.02 crore) job cards were deleted in 2023-24; 2,25,38,538 (2.25 crore) in 2022-23; and 50,39,649 (50 lakh) in 2021-22.

Job card deletions stood at 27,97,013 (27 lakh) in 2020-21 and 14,33,431 (14 lakh) in 2019-20.

Among the states, 99,26,063 (99 lakh) job cards were deleted in Bihar; 91,42,876 (91 lakh) in Uttar Pradesh; 42,82,945 (42 lakh) in Odisha; 24,05,859 (24 lakh) in West Bengal; 37,74,160 (37 lakh) in Madhya Pradesh; 35,54,193 (35 lakh) in Andhra Pradesh; and 17,93,357 (17 lakh) in Jharkhand since 2019-20.

According to the ministry website, there are 14.23 crore job cards issued under MGNREGS, covering 24.77 crore workers. Of these, 9.1 crore job cards are active, covering 13.11 crore workers. PTI AO SZM