The fourth extension for mandatory payments under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) via Aadhaar Based Payments System (ABPS) ends on August 31. As the numbers stand, out of the total 26 crore job card holders, 41.1% are still not eligible for this mode of payment. The Ministry of Rural Development has ruled out any more extensions, arguing that among the active workers, only 18.3% are ineligible.
ABPS uses the worker’s unique 12-digit Aadhaar number as their financial address. For ABPS, a worker’s Aadhaar details must be seeded with their job card and bank account. Aadhaar details should also be mapped with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) database. Finally, the bank’s institutional identification number (IIN) must itself be mapped with the NPCI database.
As per an analysis done by non-profit organisation LibTech India, even among the active workers, the percentage of ineligibility varies from State to State. Between the top five States in terms of active MNREGA workers - U.P., Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan - 1.2 crore will no longer be eligible for payments because they do not have ABPS-enabled accounts. The picture from the Northeast too is dismal. In Assam which has more than 63 lakh workers, 61.2% are not eligible and in Nagaland with 6 lakh beneficiaries, nearly 80% lack an ABPS account.
