In financial year 2022–23, more than 5 crore workers were deleted from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act database—a 247% increase compared to the previous FY. Using a worker-centric framework, this rise is investigated in context of the complexity of recent Aadhaar-based interventions and the manner of their rollout. Worker deletion and resolution practices on the ground are also analysed. These techno-solutionist policies are not consistent with democratic norms and increase workers’ distress.
