Technical problem cancels the right to work if a person applies for a new card the name disappears from the Muster Roll list for Adhaar linking Policy.

 This is how MGNREGA affects the livelihood of the Job Card Holders.

Rayagada, Odisha: When Dhananjay Sahu (29) of Akhusingi village in Rayagada started living separately after marriage, he decided to apply for a new employment card under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme Guaranty Act (MGNREGA). He wants his wife to also benefit from the health insurance under the Nirman Shramik Kalyan Yojana, which uses the MGNREGA employment card as the primary identification tool. He also hopes to ensure that new families will work for 100 days by getting the new card. 

Sahu's case is no exception. When relatives apply for another card, Job Cards are hailed as copies in the MGNREGA site. When Aadhaar numbers and record subtleties are connected to a family Job Card, the site doesn't permit admittance to another card to any family member.

The issue comes from the Ministry of Rural Development ,GOI’s announcement in January, making the Aadhaar-based payment system (ABPS) compulsory  for all instalments to the MGNREGA recipients.

 Labourers have to link their Aadhaar numbers with their Job Cards and ledgers to help instalments through ABPS. The past guidance was to connect Aadhaar with active Job Card holders, now the new order made it compulsory to linkthe  Aadhaar card of all job card holders.

The cutoff time for carrying out ABPS has been enhanced  fifth time to December 31 from the last financial year. In a motive to fulfil the timely payment guidline, the names of labourers found in more than one data are being eliminated showing tham as absent in pen and paper is a great concern.

Answering inquiries raised by Congress MPs Gaurav Gogoi and VK Sreekandan about the 244.3% hike in cancellation of MGNREGA Job Cards in 2022-23 against the past two Financial years,Union  Rural Development Minister ,GOI’ Giriraj Singh informed in the Lok Sabha on July 25 that more than  five crore Job Cards have been erased in the last financial year.