Stop 'weaponising' Aadhaar to deny benefits to NREGA workers, says Congress

As the fifth extended deadline set by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to mandate payments for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) via the Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS) ended on December 31, the Congress has said the Centre "should stop weaponising technology, especially Aadhaar, to deny the most vulnerable Indians their social welfare benefits" and release delayed wage payments and implement open muster rolls and social audits to improve transparency.

"There are a total of 25.69 cr MGNREGA workers of whom 14.33 cr are considered as active workers. As on December 27, around 34.8% of the total registered workers (8.9 cr) and 12.7% of active workers (1.8 crore) are still ineligible for ABPS. Despite many challenges highlighted by workers, practitioners and researchers in using ABPS for MGNREGA wage payments, the Modi government has continued with its destructive 'experiments with technology'. This is the prime minister's cruel New Year gift to exclude crores of the poorest and marginalised Indians from earning a basic income," said Jairam Ramesh, AICC communication in-charge, on Monday.

Ramesh, a former Rural Development Minister, questioned the MoRD's statement that job cards will not be deleted over the APBS issue, that different 'stakeholders' in certain 'consultations' have found ABPS as the best payment route and that ABPS helps workers get their wage on time and avoids transaction rejections.