GoI cancels 3.6 lakh MGNREGA job cards in J&K, Ladakh

Srinagar, Dec 10: The Union Ministry of Rural Development has informed the Lok Sabha that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh witnessed the deletion of more than 3.6 lakh MGNREGS job cards between 2019–20 and 2024–25.

The Ministry also confirmed that 79,674 workers were removed from the rolls during a one-month verification window from October 10 to November 14, 2025.

The official data reveals “Jammu and Kashmir accounted for 3,06,271 job card deletions, with yearly figures ranging from 33,032 in 2019–20 to 73,015 in 2023–24. Ladakh recorded 5,670 deletions during the same period.”

The Ministry further said the deletions were part of routine verification to remove fake, duplicate or incorrect entries, families that have permanently shifted, and cases where the lone job card holder had passed away.

“During the targeted verification drive held between October 10 and November 14 this year, 79,070 MGNREGS workers were removed in Jammu & Kashmir, and 604 in Ladakh. Officials clarified that these deletions were not linked to the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) or Aadhaar-based payment mechanisms,” the ministry said.

The Ministry urged the states and UTs to ensure no eligible household is wrongly removed, including women workers who form a significant portion of the rural labour force under MGNREGS.

It has also issued a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) requiring public display of proposed deletion lists, Gram Sabha verification, appeals, and Aadhaar-linked checks to safeguard genuine beneficiaries—(KNO)