SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir witnessed the deletion of 79,070 workers from the MGNREGS database between October 10 and November 14, 25, according to official data tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The figures were disclosed by the Ministry of Rural Development in response to a question on large-scale deletions from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme database. The deletions in Jammu and Kashmir form part of a wider nationwide exercise during which more than 16.3 lakh workers were removed from job cards in just over a month. Jammu and Kashmir alone accounted for nearly five per cent of these deletions.
While the government has described the exercise as routine and necessary to remove fake, duplicate or ineligible job cards, the data points to a persistent net decline in the registered workforce in the Union Territory over the past four years. Between 2022–23 and the current financial year 2025–26, Jammu and Kashmir has seen 664,799 workers deleted from the MGNREGS database, while only 463,926 workers were added, resulting in a net reduction of 200,873 registered workers.
The year-wise data indicates that deletions have exceeded additions in three out of the four years reviewed. In 2022–23, slightly more workers were removed than added. The gap widened sharply in 2023–24, when over two lakh workers were deleted against just over 74,000 additions. Although 2024–25 recorded a temporary reversal, with additions exceeding deletions, the trend again turned negative in 2025–26, with more than 2.41 lakh deletions compared to fewer than 99,000 additions so far this year.
Officials told Parliament that the responsibility for updating and deleting job cards lies with State and Union Territory governments and that such exercises are carried out to ensure database integrity. Job cards are deleted for reasons such as duplication, permanent migration of families, death of the sole listed worker, or when a gram panchayat is reclassified as urban. The Ministry stressed that States are required to follow strict procedures to ensure that no eligible household is wrongly removed.
The deletions have coincided with the rollout of mandatory job-card verification using e-KYC, linked to Aadhaar, bank accounts and biometric details. According to the Ministry, nearly 99.67 per cent of active workers’ Aadhaar numbers have been seeded, and e-KYC verification of job cards began on September 1, 25. As of December 11, 25, 65.05 per cent of active workers nationwide had completed the verification process.
The government maintained that no worker can be denied employment or wages solely due to non-completion of e-KYC, and said States have been instructed to conduct verification through special camps, worksites and local facilitation centres. It also said field officials have been trained to help workers navigate the digital process and to address connectivity issues.
MGNREGS is designed as a demand-driven safety net, guaranteeing up to 100 days of wage employment to rural households during periods of distress or lack of alternative work. A sustained contraction in the registered workforce, especially in a region with limited private employment opportunities, raises questions about whether administrative clean-up is outpacing outreach and re-enrolment.
