Latest news with #MuralidharEnterprise
New Indian Express
26-06-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Gujarat Congress Vice President Hira Jotva grilled by police over Rs 7.3 crore MNREGA scam
AHMEDABAD: An assistant project manager has flagged a shocking MNREGA scam worth Rs 7.3 crore across villages in Gujarat's Bharuch district, Amod, Jambusar, and Hansot Taluka. Acting on the complaint, Bharuch police have now summoned Congress leader Hira Jotva from Gir Somnath for questioning. Sources indicate that police may move toward arresting him following the interrogation. The Rs 7.30 crore fraud, spanning 430 development works across 56 villages in Amod, Jambusar, and Hansot talukas, was first flagged on May 30 by a government official from the Gram Vikas Agency, who filed a formal complaint at Bharuch's A Division Police Station. The investigation zeroed in on two Veraval-based firms — Shri Jalaram Enterprise and Muralidhar Enterprise — contracted for supplying material under MNREGA projects. These agencies allegedly manipulated records, provided substandard material, and bypassed mandatory manual labour by using machines, thereby violating the core principles of the rural employment scheme and causing massive losses to the state exchequer. Police identified Piyush Nukani, owner of Shri Jalaram Enterprise, and Jodhabhai Sabhad, owner of Muralidhar Enterprise, as key players in the racket.
New Indian Express
31-05-2025
- 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.'
