Stop use of NMMS mobile attendance app for MGNREGS till glitches fixed: Panel

NEW DELHI: A parliamentary standing committee has asked the rural development ministry to put on hold capturing attendance of workers under its rural employment guarantee scheme through the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) App till it completely rectifies the “technical glitches” in the system.

“The committee note with concern that the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS), introduced to track attendance, has faced significant failures, particularly in offline mode. Since many rural areas suffer from poor network connectivity, a stable offline mode must be developed immediately to prevent wage denials caused by technical failures,” the standing committee on the ministry of rural development headed by Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka said in its report tabled on April 3.

The committee’s recommendations came after a joint secretary-rank official of the rural development ministry, who appeared before the panel on January 8, acknowledged there were issues with the app. Responding to the concerns, the official said the panel had pointed out genuine issues such as cases where the app has accepted photos of trees instead of people.

”We are actually updating that software. Many times, people were taking photos of other photos and uploading them. Now, the system can detect this, ensuring that only live photos of workers are accepted. We want to bring technological advancements to the software and are continuously working on it,” the official said in Hindi, according to a verbatim evidence tendered before the committee.

The committee’s recommendation to put the use of the app on hold echoes glitches expressed by civil society organisations working on MGNREGS, complaining that these have led to the system denying wages to workers because their attendance could not be marked properly.

To be sure, the NMMS app was launched on May 21, 2021 to ensure “more transparency” in the implementation of MGNREGS across states and union territories. It introduced a provision for capturing attendance at worksites with geotagged photographs of beneficiaries.

The committee also recommended the use of technology for real-time tracking of inspections of works, such as mandating the use of photo and video documentation to ensure authenticity in field reports.

“... the RDD must develop innovative technological interventions to ensure that engineers involved in MGNREGS work are required to upload visual proof of site visits through an app, allowing for real-time tracking of inspections. This would help prevent fraudulent work claims and ensure that funds are being utilized efficiently,” the committee noted.

The committee also called for a comprehensive national survey to assess the effectiveness of MGNREGS. “This survey should focus on worker satisfaction, wage delays, participation trends, and financial irregularities within the scheme,” the report said.

It also asked the ministry to prevent “repetitive” work cycles and resource wastage.

Although the rural development ministry has issued a standard operating procedure regarding job card deletions, the committee cited the ministry’s 2021-22 data which showed that approximately “50.31 lakh job cards were deleted due to minor spelling errors or mismatches in Aadhaar details.”

“Since then, the numbers have not significantly decreased, and thousands of eligible workers continue to be denied work under MGNREGS. Therefore, the committee strongly recommends that the rural development department introduce a system allowing manual verification and corrections to ensure that workers are not unjustly removed from the programme”.