Kerala achieved close to 100% enrolment in the Aadhaar-based payment system (ABPS) for wage payment to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) workers as the deadline ended on January 1, but around 1,100 people, most of them in far-flung tribal settlements, still remain outside the system due to connectivity issues.
Although the number of those excluded are miniscule in Kerala compared to the national level figures, the implementation of the new system has ended up as another case of digital exclusion. Last year, the implementation of the national mobile monitoring system to capture attendance at worksites through a mobile system had led to similar issues especially in remote regions with limited connectivity.
The Union Rural Development Ministry had earlier stipulated February 1, 2023 as the deadline for shift to Aadhar-based wage payment, which was later extended five times. Till now, wages for MGNREGS workers were being paid directly to the workers’ bank accounts. Under the new system, the wages will have to be paid to a bank account linked with Aadhaar. Although the change was proposed with an intent to bring about transparency, it has ended up excluding many legitimate workers.
According to the Ministry, 34.8% of the registered workers and 12.7% of active workers remain ineligible for the mandatory Aadhar payment method. Over 7 crore workers have been deleted from the rolls since April 2022, as per data collated by Lib Tech India, a consortium of academics and activists. As per the ABPS enablement tracking dashboard, Kerala is the only State to have achieved 100% seeding of active workers, while Andhra Pradesh has achieved 99.1%. Nagaland occupies the lowest position with 20.6% seeding.
“Though we have organised Aadhar payment system seeding camps in remote areas and achieved these numbers, we have been unable to organise a camp in places like Edamalakkudy due to lack of proper connectivity. Some of them have to walk 6-7 hours to reach even the centre point of Edamalakudy. If they have to be added to the system, they need to be brought to Munnar, which takes another 4-5 hours in a jeep. In case, the seeding is not successful in the first visit due to technical issues, they won’t return,” said an official.
In Attappady, the team has been able to get a majority of the workers on the rolls, but 20 of them living in really remote areas still remain to be added. The Kerala Mission officials have been conducting an intensive seeding drive to ensure that no active worker misses out on wage payments.
