Gujarat MGNREGA mess: Jobs shrink, Rs 4.37 crore wages unpaid, corruption FIRs pile up
Corruption in Gujarat's flagship rural jobs scheme has moved from whispers to official record. On Friday, the Central Government admitted in the Rajya Sabha that MGNREGA in Dahod district is riddled with irregularities, with three separate FIRs already lodged by government officers BM Patel, SV Bambharoliya, and JG Ravat.
The revelation, made in response to a question by Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil, comes on the back of simmering outrage over alleged embezzlement by politically connected figures. Only months ago, Balwant and Kiran Khabad, sons of Gujarat Minister Bachu Khabad, were arrested for their alleged role in siphoning off Rs 71 crore from MGNREGA funds in Devgadh Baria and Dhanpur talukas. Both are currently out on bail.
Gohil wasted no time in framing the issue as a political scandal, accusing BJP leaders and their associates of 'corruption worth crores' while the state's chief minister 'threatens sarpanchs' to keep the system pliable.
"In reply to my question in the Rajya Sabha today, the central government has admitted there is massive corruption in MGNREGA in Gujarat, corruption worth crores by BJP leaders and their cronies. In Dahod alone, three government officers have been forced to file FIRs, and 10 investigation teams are already at work. Instead of acting, the Chief Minister is threatening sarpanchs, while his own ministers and bigwigs are looting crores. I demand strict action against them," said Gohil.
But the problem runs deeper than criminal charges. The same Rajya Sabha data shows a steady erosion of MGNREGA's reach in Gujarat from 0.16 crore beneficiaries in 2022–23, to 0.15 crore in 2023–24, and just 0.13 crore in 2024–25. On top of that, as of July 28, 2025, the state is staring at Rs 4.37 crore in pending wage liabilities.
The corruption complaints are not limited to Dahod; similar allegations have surfaced in districts like Bharuch and Devgadh Baria, but Dahod now stands as the epicentre of a scandal that fuses political muscle, public money, and vanishing rural entitlements into one grim picture.
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