Latest news with #MahatmaGandhiNationalRuralEmploymentGuaranteeAct
New Indian Express
5 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Rs 7.3 crore MGNREGA scam uncovered in Bharuch amid growing Gujarat rural job scheme crisis
AHMEDABAD: The corruption in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) continues to deepen in Gujarat. Following massive irregularities unearthed in Dahod, Panchmahal, and Narmada districts, Bharuch has now been added to the list exposing yet another multi-crore scam under the Central government's flagship employment scheme for the rural poor. According to a police complaint filed at Bharuch A Division, a staggering Rs 7.30 crore has been siphoned off through fraudulent practices across 56 villages in the talukas of Amod, Jambusar, and Hansot. Officials say the fraud stems from collusion between contractors and government personnel. The First Information Report (FIR), lodged at Bharuch A Division Police Station on Friday, 30 May 2025, names two firms Muralidhar Enterprise and Jalaram Enterprise accused of gross irregularities in executing clay-metal road works across 11 villages, covering projects from January 20, 2023, to the present. Citing a technical audit, the FIR notes, 'In each of the 11 villages, despite road lengths being consistent, the agencies arbitrarily segmented the roads into different parts averaging 236 metres per segment violating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and government-prescribed criteria.'
NDTV
16 hours ago
- NDTV
Gujarat Minister's Son Re-Arrested After Getting Bail In MGNREGA 'Scam'
Dahod, Gujarat: The son of Gujarat minister Bachubhai Khabad was arrested immediately after he was granted bail in another case connected to MGNREGA works, a senior police official said on Friday. Kiran Khabad, son of Gujarat minister of state for panchayat and agriculture, was arrested two weeks ago for alleged involvement in a Rs 71 crore Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scam unearthed last month in Dahod. "c was arrested on Thursday night after he came out of jail on bail in the first FIR. He was arrested in a fresh case lodged by Dahod police. As per the fresh FIR, some agencies, including Kiran, received payments from the government without completing work allotted to them under MGNREGA," said Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagdishsinh Bhandari. As per the fresh FIR lodged by Dahod 'B' division police on Thursday evening against agency owners and government officials, payment of Rs 18.41 lakh has been made to agencies despite incomplete work carried out in Lavaria village of Dahod under MGNREGA. Kiran was arrested along with his brother Balvant two weeks ago after the Dahod police registered an FIR of cheating, forgery and breach of trust against unidentified persons, including government employees, following the unearthing of a Rs 71 crore scam by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA). As per the FIR, they had not completed the assigned work or supplied the required materials between 2021 and 2024 but claimed payments by submitting bogus work completion certificates and forged documents. According to police, Balvant and Kiran are proprietors of agencies implicated in fraudulent MGNREGA projects carried out in the Devgadh Baria and Dhanpur talukas of Dahod district. After their remand ended, both of them were sent to judicial custody and subsequently granted bail by a local court on Thursday.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
MGNREGA ‘scam': Kiran Khabad sent to seven days in police custody
A local court in Dahod on Friday remanded Kiran Khabad — son of Gujarat Minister of State for Panchayat and Agriculture, Bachubhai Khabad — to seven days in police custody in an alleged scam under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Lavaria village of Devgadh Baria taluka, for which a second FIR was lodged against him on Thursday afternoon based on the complaint of the District Rural Development Authority (DRDA). Kiran and his brother Balvantsinh were earlier arrested in an alleged scam of Rs 71 crore in works carried out under the MGNREGA in two villages in Devgadh Baria and one in Dhanpur taluka — from where the Khabads hail. Dahod district Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagdishsinh Bhandari told The Indian Express that the police had sought a remand of 14 days to conduct an investigation into the second FIR lodged in the alleged scam of about Rs 18.41 lakh in works done under MGNREGA, from January 2021 to December 2024. 'We sought the remand on the ground that we need to probe the transactions involved, who made the bills and who passed them. Who are the government officers involved in the scam and who benefited from the scam. We had sought a 14 days remand but the court granted a remand of seven days,' Bhandari told this newspaper. The FIR, lodged by in-charge DRDA Director SC Bhambholiya, states, 'After inspecting the site of various works in Lavaria village, it was found that out of the total 79 works, 21 had not been completed but bills worth Rs 18.41 lakh towards material and labour were cleared… The same was done in connivance with government officials by unauthorised agencies that did not participate in the tender process or emerge as the L1 bidder in the MGNREGA projects.' L1 bidder submits the lowest bid price in a procurement process. Kiran had been taken into custody from outside Dahod sub-jail, following his release on regular bail on Thursday in the first FIR of the alleged scam of Rs 71 crore. While his older brother Balvantsinh was allowed to leave from the sub-jail as per the conditions of the bail, Kiran was formally arrested at Dahod B-Division police station late on Thursday evening.
The Print
a day ago
- Politics
- The Print
MGNREGA ‘scam': Gujarat minister's son arrested in second case soon after getting bail in first
'Kiran Khabad was arrested on Thursday night after he came out of jail on bail in the first FIR. He was arrested in a fresh case lodged by Dahod police. As per the fresh FIR, some agencies, including Kiran, received payments from the government without completing work allotted to them under MGNREGA,' said Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagdishsinh Bhandari. Kiran Khabad, son of Gujarat minister of state for panchayat and agriculture, was arrested two weeks ago for alleged involvement in a Rs 71 crore Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scam unearthed last month in Dahod. Dahod, May 30 (PTI) The son of Gujarat minister Bachubhai Khabad was arrested immediately after he was granted bail in another case connected to MGNREGA works, a senior police official said on Friday. As per the fresh FIR lodged by Dahod 'B' division police on Thursday evening against agency owners and government officials, payment of Rs 18.41 lakh has been made to agencies despite incomplete work carried out in Lavaria village of Dahod under MGNREGA. Kiran was arrested along with his brother Balvant two weeks ago after the Dahod police registered an FIR of cheating, forgery and breach of trust against unidentified persons, including government employees, following the unearthing of a Rs 71 crore scam by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA). As per the FIR, they had not completed the assigned work or supplied the required materials between 2021 and 2024 but claimed payments by submitting bogus work completion certificates and forged documents. According to police, Balvant and Kiran are proprietors of agencies implicated in fraudulent MGNREGA projects carried out in the Devgadh Baria and Dhanpur talukas of Dahod district. After their remand ended, both of them were sent to judicial custody and subsequently granted bail by a local court on Thursday. PTI COR PJT BNM This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
MGNREGA workers protest in Kalaburagi demanding payment of pending wages
Over a hundred rural labourers working under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) staged a protest on Friday in the premises of the Zilla Panchayat office in Kalaburagi, demanding immediate payment of six months' pending wages and the fulfilment of other long-standing demands. The protesters, comprising workers from various levels of the job scheme, raised slogans demanding job security, the formation of an employee cooperative society, and the urgent disbursement of wages. Speaking at the protest, many workers expressed their distress over the non-payment of wages since December 2024. 'It has become nearly impossible to sustain our livelihoods. We are surviving on loans. It is incorrect to inordinately delay the wages as it would adverse impact on the labourers who live from hand to mouth. The government must release our salaries immediately,' said one of the protestors. Ravishankar Lavate, president of the Karnataka State Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Workers' Welfare Association, while addressing the gathering expressed discontentment over the non-payment of wages. 'We have been working for 10 to 12 years for the implementation of the NREGA scheme across the rural areas in the district. For the past five to six months, we have not been paid for the work we have completed. Managing household responsibilities has become a significant challenge without a steady income. Many families are completely dependent on the job scheme for survival. The government should understand the seriousness of the issue and act without delay.' Following the protest, a memorandum outlining their grievances and addressed the Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Panchayat was submitted to the Zilla Panchayat Planning Director, Jagadevappa. Association vice-president Roshan B.K., State Representative Raju Vanti, and several local office-bearers and the labourers were present in the agitation.
