WORRYING DROP IN WORKER HEADCOUNT IN RURAL JOBS SCHEME

AT a time of jobless growth, over 39 lakh deletions of registered workers in the Centre's rural jobs scheme was reported in the first half of the current financial year.

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Data compiled by an NGO from the official website of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (MGNREGS) shows 84.8 lakh deletions against 45.5 lakh additions. It also indicates an 8 percent drop in active workers, which means there are fewer beneficiaries compared to last year. Rigorous scrutiny of the scheme's job card data is a regular exercise undertaken by all states and Union Territories. But there are strict parameters for cancelling any job card. For example, it can be deleted if it is fake or duplicate or the beneficiary is no longer alive. Households not willing to work any longer or families that shift out of a gram panchayat