More Than 7.43 Lakh MGNREGA Fake Job Cards Deleted In 2022-23, Maximum In UP

Minister of State Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti shared the data on fake job cards in the Lok Sabha in a written response to a question.

Over 7.43 lakh fake job cards Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme job cards were deleted in 2022-23. Out of the total deleted fake job cards, over 2.96 lakh were deleted in Uttar Pradesh alone, the centre said in the Lok Sabha. Minister of State for Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti shared the information on fake job cards in the Lok Sabha in a written response to a question. 

The data showed that 7,43,457 fake job cards were deleted in 2022-23, while 3,06,944 fake job cards were deleted in 2021-22. Among all states Uttar Pradesh contributed tpo the highest number of fake job card deletion. While 67,937 fake job cards were deleted in UttarPradesh in 2021-23, the number hiked to 2,96,464 in 2022-23.

Uttar Pradesh was followed by Odisha with a total of 1,14,333 fake job cards being deleted in 2022-23, and 50,817 in 2021-22. Madhya Pradesh accounted for the deletion of 27,859 fake job cards in 2022-23, and 95,209 in 2021-22. Similarly, in Bihar, the total number of fake job cards deleted amounted to 80,203 and 27,062, in 2022-23, and 2021-22, respectively. In Jharkhand, 70,673 job cards were deleted in 2022-23 and 23,528 the previous year.

While Andhra Pradesh reported the deletion of 1,833 fake job cards in 2021-22, the numbers skyrocketed to 46,662 in 2022-23. In Rajasthan, 45,646 fake job cards were deleted in 2022-23, and 14,782 in 2021-22. 

In West Bengal, where the the MGNREGA payments have been halted since the past two year over allegations5,263 job cards were deleted in 2022-23 of corruption, 5,263 fake job cards were deleted in 2022-23, and 388 in 2021-22. The updation and deletion of job cards is a continuous process, and and as per Section 25 of the Act, whoever contravenes its provisions shall on conviction be liable to a fine which may extend to Rs 1,000, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti was further reported as saying by news agency PTI. 

"Also, Aadhaar seeding has been made mandatory for the de-duplication of the beneficiaries database to prevent fake job card issuance," she was quoted as saying. In a written response to another question in the Lok Sabha, she further informed Lok Sabha that 6,47,8345 new job cards were issued in 2022-23. While 1,20,63,967 new job cards were issued in 2021-22, in Covic-19 hit 2020-21, a total of 1,91,05,369 new job cards were issued. 

As per a response from Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh in the Lok Sabha during the monsoon session, that job cards entailing 5.18 crore workers were deleted in 2022-23, which marked an increase of 247.06 per cent compared to 2021-22. The figure stood at 1.49 crore in 2021-22. Notably, the deletion of job cards is triggered by a variety of reasons including those being fake or duplicate, or when a beneficiary moves out of a panchayat area or dies.

(With inputs from PTI)

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