Aadhaar linked pay made mandatory for MGNREGS workers

Syllabus: GS-II

Subject: Social Justice

Topic: Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections of the population by the Centre and States and the Performance of these Schemes.

Context:   Wages under the MGNREG Scheme will be paid only through an Aadhaar based payment system (ABPS), which requires the Aadhaar details of workers to be seeded to their job cards.

Synopsis:

• The fifth extension of the deadline to make the system mandatory ended
• The first order to enforce the system was issued on January 30,2023, followed by extensions.
• Activists argue that mandatory ABPS led to deletion of large number of job cards leading to denial of right to work.
• LibTech India says the names of 6 crore workers have been deleted over the past 21 months.
• Union Rural Development Ministry data show that8% of the job card holders remain ineligible for this mode of payment
• The government contends that ABPS implementation will plug leaks ensure  and reduce rejection.

MNREG Act,2005:

Conclusion: There must be a lenient view if linking has not been done for any genuine reason.