📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Ministry of Rural Development
Jobs & Career
Audit Finds 20% of MGNREGA Job Cards Unverified in Jammu & Kashmir
✍️ Kashmir Life
🗓 08 Oct 2026, 01:17 PM
👁 10
An audit of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act database in Jammu & Kashmir revealed that one‑fifth of the issued job cards have not been verified, raising concerns over data integrity.
A recent audit of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) database in Jammu & Kashmir has uncovered that 20 percent of the job cards issued under the scheme remain unverified. The audit, conducted by the state’s audit department, flagged this gap as a significant data quality issue.
Unverified job cards can impede the accurate disbursement of wages and hinder the monitoring of work allocation, potentially affecting the livelihoods of rural households that depend on MGNREGA for income. The findings also raise questions about the robustness of the scheme’s digital record‑keeping in the region.
State officials have been asked to initiate a comprehensive verification drive, cross‑checking the pending cards against field records and beneficiary testimonies. The audit report recommends upgrading the database management system and strengthening on‑ground verification mechanisms to prevent similar lapses in the future.
The revelation comes at a time when the central government is emphasizing transparency and efficiency in flagship welfare programmes, urging states to ensure that every eligible worker receives timely benefits.
Unverified job cards can impede the accurate disbursement of wages and hinder the monitoring of work allocation, potentially affecting the livelihoods of rural households that depend on MGNREGA for income. The findings also raise questions about the robustness of the scheme’s digital record‑keeping in the region.
State officials have been asked to initiate a comprehensive verification drive, cross‑checking the pending cards against field records and beneficiary testimonies. The audit report recommends upgrading the database management system and strengthening on‑ground verification mechanisms to prevent similar lapses in the future.
The revelation comes at a time when the central government is emphasizing transparency and efficiency in flagship welfare programmes, urging states to ensure that every eligible worker receives timely benefits.