Bengal 125-Day Employment Scheme: Over 2.1 Million Job Cards Declared Ineligible

Bengal 125-Day Employment Scheme has undergone a massive verification exercise, with the West Bengal government identifying more than 2.1 million ineligible job cards during an extensive digital verification and e-KYC drive. The initiative is aimed at eliminating fake and duplicate beneficiaries while ensuring that financial assistance reaches only genuine workers under the state's flagship rural employment programme.

Officials said the verification process, initiated under the direction of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, is one of the largest beneficiary authentication exercises undertaken by the state. The campaign is expected to improve transparency, curb misuse of public funds, and strengthen the implementation of the employment scheme.

Massive Digital Verification Underway

The West Bengal government has completed digital verification for nearly 80% of the state's 25.6 million job cards through an e-KYC process.

According to sources in Nabanna:

Total job cards in the state: 25.6 million

Job cards digitally verified: Around 80%

Ineligible job cards identified: 2,100,452

Job cards already cancelled: 1,564,713

Remaining ineligible cards to be deleted in phases
Officials said the verification drive is still in progress, indicating that the number of cancelled job cards may rise as more records are scrutinised.

Districts With Highest Number of Cancelled Job Cards

The verification exercise has led to the cancellation of a large number of job cards across several districts.

The  highest deletions have been recorded in:

South 24 Parganas: 340,469

Hooghly: 154,463

Howrah: 133,832

Purba Medinipur: 117,281

Dakshin Dinajpur: 104,213

Authorities expect similar verification outcomes in other districts as the campaign continues.

Why the Verification Drive Was Launched
Government officials said the Bengal 125-Day Employment Scheme verification was launched to identify fake, duplicate, and otherwise ineligible job cards.

The exercise follows allegations that, during the previous Trinamool Congress administration, some individuals allegedly obtained multiple job cards under different identities, resulting in irregularities in beneficiary records.

To prevent misuse of government welfare funds, the Panchayat and Rural Development Department introduced mandatory digital verification and e-KYC authentication.

Link With the 125-Day Employment Scheme

The verification campaign gained momentum after the state launched the 125-Day Employment Scheme on July 1.

Under the scheme, only workers possessing valid and digitally verified job cards are eligible to receive employment and related financial benefits.

Officials said linking benefits to verified records ensures that government assistance reaches deserving beneficiaries while preventing fraudulent claims.

Government Focuses on Transparency

The state government maintains that the verification exercise is an important governance reform aimed at improving accountability.

Officials believe the initiative will:

Eliminate fake and duplicate job cards

Prevent misuse of government funds

Improve transparency in welfare delivery

Ensure benefits reach genuine workers

Strengthen digital governance

Enhance public confidence in welfare schemes
The government has indicated that further verification will continue until all job card records are authenticated.

Verification Process Continues

The Panchayat and Rural Development Department has confirmed that the verification drive is ongoing across the state.

Officials are continuing field-level inspections, digital authentication, and database verification to identify additional ineligible beneficiaries.
Any remaining fraudulent or duplicate job cards will be cancelled in subsequent phases after verification is completed.

The Bengal 125-Day Employment Scheme verification drive marks a significant step toward improving transparency and accountability in the state's rural employment programme. With over 2.1 million job cards identified as ineligible and more than 1.56 million already cancelled, the government aims to ensure that welfare benefits are directed exclusively to eligible beneficiaries. As digital verification progresses, officials expect the initiative to strengthen the credibility and efficiency of the employment scheme across West Bengal.