Only 62.6% of all workers and 86.1% of active workers nationally are eligible for the mandated Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS) under the Centre’s flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), according to an analysis by LibTech India, a not-for-profit organization. The study is based on data sourced from the Ministry of Rural Development’s (MoRD) MGNREGS portal as on October 6, 2023.
The report titled ‘MGNREGS Implementation Status -April-September 2023’ said that even states that have near-universal eligibility for ABPS have at least one block that is performing below the national average.
In MGNREGS programmes, active workers are those who have worked at least for a day over the past three years, while all workers mean all those who are registered under the scheme, irrespective of when they worked last under it.
“Despite multiple deadline extensions, a significant proportion of workers still do not meet the eligibility criteria for ABPS. There are wide disparities when it comes to workers eligible for ABPS among all workers and active workers across states. The percentage of workers eligible for ABPS ranges from 27.1% in Maharashtra to 97.2% in Andhra Pradesh among all workers and 43.6% in Assam to 99.7% in Kerala among active workers," according to the analysis.
ABPS BECAME MANDATORY IN JAN, DEC 31 LATEST DEADLINE; 9% RISE IN PERSON-DAYS
As the new payment mode became mandatory for payment of wages under the scheme this January, a large number of workers became ineligible for seeking work under the scheme. This is when demand for work has seen a steady increase in the first six months of this fiscal, compared to the past three years.
According to the analysis, the mandated ABPS for MGNREGS workers faces hurdles, with a significant proportion of workers remaining ineligible despite multiple deadline extensions.
The MoRD has set December 31 as the latest deadline for states to switch completely to ABPS.
Data shows that there has been a 9% increase in the number of person-days generated under MGNREGS in the first six months of this fiscal, compared to the corresponding period since 2021-22.
UNDERPERFORMING BLOCKS: AP, KERALA, KARNATAKA THE EXCEPTIONS
Even in poll-bound states such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, both of which are large states, the percentage of underperforming blocks of registered workers is significant.
The only exceptions to the trend are Andhra Pradesh for all workers and Kerala and Karnataka for active workers. “Further, the picture is very different for active workers and all workers. For example, while none of the blocks in Karnataka are underperforming in case of active workers, in case of all workers, 47.2% of the blocks are performing below the national average," it said.
MGNREGS activists maintain that while there are still two months for states to complete the Aadhaar-seeding of remaining workers, when seen on ground, even 2%-3% of ineligible workforce translates into lakhs of workers, especially, in larger states where block and village sizes are much bigger.
Among states, the report said, Assam has the lowest percentage of workers eligible for ABPS at 43.6%, while Kerala has the highest percentage of workers eligible for ABPS with near universal eligibility of 99.7%. All states except for Assam have more than 75% active workers eligible for ABPS.
“However, the proportions are much lower when we consider all workers, with only seven states having more than 75% eligible workers. Further, even states that have a high proportion of workers eligible for ABPS when considering active workers might have a much lower proportion of workers eligible for ABPS when all workers are taken into account," it said.
MNREGS: THE SAFETY NET FOR MIGRANT WORKERS
According to Chakradhar Buddha, senior researcher at LibTech, who worked on the report, while the government’s focus has largely been just on active workers, considering the numbers from the perspective of ‘all workers’ is extremely important as MGNREGS is a legal guarantee. “It is the legal right of a worker registered under the scheme to have a valid job card so that they can work whenever the need arises. However, not being eligible for the same compromises the provisions of the scheme," said Buddha.
He added that MGNREGA scheme plays a pivotal role in providing rural employment, and its effectiveness hinges on addressing challenges such as worker deletions, ABPS eligibility, and ensuring adequate budget allocations.
The scheme acted as a safety net for scores of migrant workers during the pandemic when they had to retreat back to villages for work being halted in urban centres. MGNREGS is a demand-driven scheme that allows 100 days of guaranteed unskilled manual work to adult members of a rural household in a financial year.
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