Extension of the deadline for Aadhaar-based payments for MGNREGS till December 31
The Aadhaar-based payment system (ABPS) deadline for MGNREGA employees has been extended by the Central Government to December 31.
To avoid phony identities and inconsistencies in payments under the program, the Center had declared in February of this year that MGNREGA employees would get their earnings based on ABPS.
The mixed salary payment method (NACH and ABPS route) has been extended until December 31, 2023, or until further order, according to a statement released on Wednesday by the rural development ministry.
The ministry stated the following as justification for extending the deadline: “It has been brought to the Central government’s attention that in many cases due to frequent changes in bank account numbers by the beneficiary and non-updating of the new account number by the concerned programme officer of the same, due to non-submission of a new account by the beneficiary on time, several transactions of wage payment are being rejected (due to old account number) by destination bank branch.”
In addition, it has made it plain to all the states that beneficiaries who come for employment should be asked for an Aadhaar number, but that employment would not be denied on this basis.
According to government sources, APBS plays a crucial role in reducing corruption by screening out phony beneficiaries while also assisting legitimate recipients in receiving their just compensation.
The government emphasized that MGNREGA has chosen ABPS rather than Aadhaar-enabled payment and added that the program has not done so.
The urge for employment is unaffected by a beneficiary’s eligibility for APBS if they do not express a desire to work. The ministry said that job cards cannot be removed on the grounds that a worker is ineligible for APBS.
13.97 crore of the 14.33 crore active beneficiaries have their Aadhaars seeded. A total of 13.34 crore Aadhaar have been validated against these seeded Aadhaar, and 81.89% of active employees are now qualified for APBS.
Approximately 88.51% of wage payments were made via APBS as of July 2023.
