Make Aadhaar-Based Payment System optional under MGNREGS: Parliamentary panel

New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has asked the government to make the Aadhaar-Based Payment System optional for wage transfers under the rural employment guarantee scheme and provide simpler alternatives.

The rural development ministry has mandated the system under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) since January 2024, citing its role in curbing leakages and ensuring direct fund transfer into a beneficiary's account.

Earlier, wages were paid by way of electronic payment through the National Automated Clearing House (NACH). The Parliamentary Standing Panel on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, in a report submitted on Friday, recommended easing a shift to NACH or other alternatives, particularly for elderly workers and those in remote areas with low biometric authentication success.