SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has recorded the deletion of 4,07,410 MGNREGS job cards and 11,00,259 workers associated with those cards since 2021, according to data furnished by the Union Ministry of Rural Development in the Lok Sabha.
Ladakh recorded 6,147 job cards deleted during the same period, involving 24,156 workers, the ministry said in its reply to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 133, answered on 28 July 2026.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the number of deleted job cards rose from 60,659 in 2021 to 2,86,696 in 2025 before standing at 83,227 in 2026, with the 2026 figure counted up to 22 July. The corresponding number of workers affected was 1,65,544 in 2021, 2,89,816 in 2025 and 2,29,871 in 2026 up to 22 July.
During the period from June 2025 to June 2026, 7,72,149 rural households in Jammu and Kashmir demanded work under MGNREGS in 2025-26, while 2,05,039 households did so in 2026-27, according to the ministry’s data. Ladakh recorded 33,475 and 15,167 households respectively.
Nationally, 5.33 crore households demanded work under MGNREGS in 2025-26 and 3.15 crore in 2026-27 during the period covered by the government data. Jammu and Kashmir’s 7.72 lakh households in 2025-26 represented about 1.45 per cent of the national total, while its 2.05 lakh households in 2026-27 accounted for about 0.65 per cent.
The ministry said that, from financial year 2021-22 to financial year 2026-27, as on 22 July 2026, 5 crore households and 8.30 crore workers had been included under MGNREGS nationally.
Across the country, 5,20,24,413 job cards were deleted between 1 January 2021 and 22 July 2026, involving 13,21,52,284 workers. Jammu and Kashmir’s deleted job cards accounted for about 0.78 per cent of the national total, while the workers involved represented about 0.83 per cent.
The Union Ministry of Rural Development said MGNREGS is implemented by State Governments and Union Territory Administrations, which are responsible for issuing, verifying, updating and deleting job cards. The ministry issued a Standard Operating Procedure on 25 January 2025 prescribing due process and safeguards before any job card or worker record is deleted. It said deletion can be carried out only after verification by the concerned State Government or UT administration in accordance with the prescribed procedure.
The government also said that the technology-enabled framework under the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 contains exception-handling mechanisms to prevent genuine beneficiaries from being excluded because of digital compliance or authentication problems. Alternative procedures are available in cases involving poor network connectivity, technical glitches, device-related problems and other exceptional circumstances.
On the provision for a pause in programme implementation, the ministry said Section 6 of the VB–G RAM G Act, 2025 allows an aggregate pause of up to 60 days during notified peak sowing and harvesting seasons. State Governments can notify the period according to local agro-climatic conditions and agricultural calendars. The ministry said the statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment remains unchanged, with households able to seek guaranteed employment during the remaining period of the financial year under the demand-driven provisions of the Act.
The ministry further clarified that no agriculture or allied work permissible under MGNREGS was discontinued or removed from the permissible work list during the preceding five years. With the VB–G RAM G Act coming into effect from 1 July 2026, the permissible works have been comprehensively revised and expanded, with greater emphasis on water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure and mitigation of extreme weather events, while agriculture and allied activities continue to be covered.
The figures were provided by Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in response to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 133 on deletion of job cards under MGNREGS, answered on July 28, 2026.
