India Cancels 58,000 Fake Job Cards Under MGNREGS via Aadhaar Verification

Over 58,000 Fake or Redundant Job Cards Cancelled Under MGNREGS After Aadhaar-Based Verification

Introduction: Major Clean-Up Drive Under MGNREGS

In a significant administrative update, the Government of India has announced the cancellation of 58,826 fake or redundant job cards under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) during the financial year 2024–25. The drive was executed after a systematic Aadhaar-based verification process, aimed at ensuring that scheme benefits reach only genuine and eligible rural households.

About MGNREGS and Its Objectives

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, widely known as MGNREGS, is a flagship demand-driven wage employment programme of the Government of India. It is designed as a social security measure, offering 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. MGNREGS serves as a fallback option, ensuring livelihood support in the absence of other employment opportunities in rural India. As of July 2025, nearly 15.99 crore households are registered under the scheme, and the ongoing fiscal has seen the generation of 290.60 crore person-days of employment.

The government remains committed to providing adequate employment to all eligible and willing rural households, reinforcing rural resilience and supporting vulnerable populations during times of economic uncertainty.

The Job Card System and Its Importance

At the centre of MGNREGS implementation is the ‘job card’, a crucial document issued to every registered household. This card identifies members eligible for work and enables them to demand wage employment. Job cards are updated periodically to reflect the status and details of participating households.

Why Verification Became Essential

Over the years, reports of fake, duplicate, or redundant job cards arising from improper registration, non-migrated records, or the departure or death of the beneficiary have surfaced. These anomalies risk diversion of benefits, wastage of public funds, and inflation of beneficiary numbers. Accurate identification of beneficiaries is vital for the integrity and efficiency of the scheme, necessitating measures to identify and delete invalid cards.

Aadhaar-Based Job Card Verification: Implementation

The Ministry of Rural Development, in partnership with state and union territory governments, undertook an extensive job card verification drive. Aadhaar, India’s unique biometric-based identity system, was deployed to detect and remove duplicate or spurious job cards by cross-checking demographic and biometric attributes across various records.

Job card verification is described as an ongoing exercise. The process adheres to clear criteria: cards are subject to cancellation under circumstances such as detection of fake or duplicate entries, if the household is unwilling to work, if the family has migrated permanently, or when the sole job cardholder has expired.

“Job card verification is a continuous exercise under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS, conducted by States and Union Territories using Aadhaar as a tool for de-duplication. Job cards may be cancelled or deleted after proper verification in cases of fake or duplicate entries, households unwilling to work, families that have permanently migrated, or where the sole job cardholder has expired.”
- Ministry of Rural Development, Press Information Bureau

This exercise is part of the broader good governance reforms being implemented to improve the reliability and transparency of rural employment delivery systems. State agencies are required to maintain due diligence and adherence to established procedures before initiating deletion of any card.

Statistics: Scope of Cancellations and Current Coverage

Official data released in July 2025 reveals that 58,826 job cards were deleted in the last financial year after due verification. This figure includes job cards removed on account of duplication, fake entries, or ineligibility discovered during physical or digital verifications.

The Aadhaar-enabled de-duplication process has also facilitated more effective targeting of genuine beneficiaries. In the current financial year 2025–26, 99.79% of rural households that demanded employment under MGNREGS were successfully provided work, signifying that actual beneficiaries are not being denied their entitlements due to the clean-up process.

Policy Framework and Administrative Measures

According to policy documents and government briefings, several recent administrative reforms under MGNREGS complement the verification exercise:

• Almost 97% of active workers have been linked with the Aadhaar Payment Bridge System, enabling direct wage payments and reducing the chances of fraud or impersonation.
• New registers and simplified documentation protocols have been adopted to maintain real-time records and facilitate efficient audits.
• Strengthened social and internal audits, along with deployment of Citizen Information Boards, have been put in place to promote transparency and facilitate grievance redressal in villages.
• Convergence initiatives with various ministries have furthered asset creation, such as rural infrastructure, agriculture, and allied sector improvements, in partnership with agencies like the Border Roads Organisation and the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• Awareness programmes have been scaled up to educate citizens and local functionaries about verification processes and eligibility criteria.

These measures reflect a multi-pronged approach aimed at ensuring that the welfare benefits mandated under MGNREGS genuinely reach the intended target group.

Field-Level Verification Procedures

State-level implementing agencies have developed standard operating procedures to ensure thorough field-level verification. The process often includes:

• Cross-checking demographic information provided during registration with Aadhaar and village records.
• Undertaking house-to-house surveys to verify the presence and willingness of families to work under the scheme.
• Deleting records in cases where beneficiaries have migrated, are unwilling to work, or the cardholder has deceased.
• Gathering inputs from gram panchayat officials and community-based social audits to validate the authenticity of job card holders.

The final decision on job card deletion is taken only after all relevant checks are satisfactorily completed, and affected households are informed of the action as per due process.

Impacts on MGNREGS Beneficiaries and Administration

The cancellation of fake or redundant job cards is expected to have several positive outcomes. Firstly, it optimizes resource allocation by ensuring that budgetary allocation and wage payments go solely to eligible beneficiaries. In the current financial year, the scheme has released Rs 45,783 crore, with Rs 37,912 crore earmarked for wage payments.

Secondly, the move is likely to streamline implementation, reduce administrative burden, and increase public trust in the scheme. Genuine workers are less likely to experience payment delays or exclusion, since records are cleaner and more secure.

Furthermore, transparent beneficiary lists and real-time databases facilitate more effective social audits, helping communities monitor the scheme and report irregularities. Improved coverage and correct targeting also support the government’s efforts to meet poverty alleviation and rural development goals more efficiently.

Safeguards Against Exclusion or Unintended Hardship

While the government’s focus has been on eliminating fake or redundant records, it has reiterated safeguards to prevent the exclusion of genuine beneficiaries. Mechanisms for appeals and rectification of records are available at the panchayat and district levels, permitting households to contest erroneous deletions.

The government has clarified that deletion decisions are only made after comprehensive verification and that cancellation notifications are communicated formally. Households inadvertently affected by deletion are entitled to reapply or appeal to local authorities for restoration of their entitlements.

“The Government of India remains committed to providing adequate employment to all willing and eligible rural households under the scheme as per demand.”
- Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Rural Development

Complementary Reforms for Systemic Improvement

The Aadhaar-based verification drive forms part of a wider suite of reforms rolled out in 2024–25 to enhance the accountability and efficiency of MGNREGS. Additional initiatives include:

• Timely fund transfers: Over 97% of fund transfer orders are now generated on time, improving payment reliability for workers.
• Asset creation: Over 86.98 lakh assets, including water bodies, rural infrastructure, and public buildings, have been developed, reflecting the scheme’s impact on long-term rural development.
• Inclusion of landless labourers: Proactive measures to enroll landless workers, ensuring wider coverage among marginal groups.
• Focus on agriculture: Nearly 44.14% of scheme funds in the last financial year were directed towards agriculture and allied activities, supporting rural livelihoods beyond wage payments.

These advances underline steady progress towards more transparent, responsive, and outcome-focused rural development governance.

Outlook: Ensuring the Integrity of Rural Schemes

The recent deletion of over 58,000 fake or redundant job cards stands as a pertinent administrative action, demonstrating the government’s resolve in leveraging digital tools and on-ground verification to safeguard public funds. As rural employment guarantee remains vital for millions, such periodic clean-up exercises are expected to be continued, accompanied by other reforms in data management, service delivery, and grievance redressal.

By reaffirming its focus on the legitimate needs of rural workers, the government aims to make MGNREGS a more reliable pillar for poverty alleviation and rural resilience. The strengthening of verification norms and administrative oversight ensures that public resources directly benefit the socio-economically vulnerable, while minimizing leakages and inefficiencies in the system.