Latest news with #NationalRuralEmploymentGuarantee
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Bharuch NREGA scam investigators detain Gujarat Congress VP
Surat: Gujarat Congress vice-president Hira Jotva was detained by a Bharuch police team investigating the Rs. 7.3 crore NREGA scam. The Bharuch superintendent of police formed a 10-member SIT under a deputy superintendent of police. According to sources, the SIT found that both agencies involved in the scam had links with Jotva. Police may arrest Jotva on Friday if he is found to be involved in the scam. The scam affected 56 villages in Hansot, Amod and Jambusar talukas of Bharuch where two agencies were entrusted with contracts for road and other construction works under the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA) scheme. The agencies siphoned off money with the help of local officials by submitting forged bills. They also did not use the materials specified by the govt in the standard operating procedure (SOP). Both agencies involved bore the address of Supasi village, which is Jotva's village. On Thursday morning, Bharuch LCB police reached the office of Jotva at Supasi village in Gir-Somnath district's Veraval taluka. They detained him and left for Bharuch to question him. "We had booked Piyush Ratilal Nukani, the proprietor of Jalaram Enterprise and Jodha Naran Sabhad, the owner of Murlidhar Enterprise in the Rs. 7.3 crore MNREGA scam. We suspect these accused are just faces and the agencies were operated by Jotva. We will question him over his role in the agencies and may arrest him if he cannot answer our questions satisfactorily," said an officer. Jotva is a senior Congress leader and is a vice-president in the Gujarat Congress. He contested the Junagadh Lok Sabha seat against BJP's Rajesh Chudasama in 2024 and lost. He served as sarpanch of Supasi village from 1991 to 2004. In 2023, he also contested elections from Keshod but lost. He has served at various posts in the Congress since 1995.
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Time of India
Sessions court upholds minister's sons' bail
Vadodara: The Dahod district and sessions court turned down the applications seeking the cancellation of bail granted to Balwant and Kiran Khabad, the sons of Gujarat minister of state for panchayats Bachu Khabad in connection with the first offence registered, for the alleged Rs 71 crore scam in the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA) scheme in Dahod. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Both are, however, still in judicial custody for other offences registered against them later. The Khabad brothers were arrested after their names cropped up in the Rs 71 crore scam, for which an offence was registered in April. They later got bail from a magisterial court in Dahod. Dahod police registered two more offences for NREGA scams in different villages and re-arrested Balwant and Kiran. They were taken into police custody for these offences and then sent to judicial custody. The brothers are accused of supplying material for NREGA works even when their agencies did not qualify as the lowest bidder. Material was supplied by agencies linked to the two brothers and others in three villages of Devgadhbaria and Dhanpur talukas in Dahod district. So far, 12 people have been arrested for the scam. They include eight officials and four private persons, including the Khabad brothers.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Congress alleges scam in NREGA in Panchmahal too
Vadodara: After an offence was registered regarding the alleged scam in the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA) scheme in Dahod district involving a BJP minister's sons based on the Congress's representations, the Congress has alleged that large-scale irregularities occurred in neighbouring Panchmahal district too. The party alleged that large sums of money were paid for material supplied by BJP members in violation of NREGA rules. The Congress raised the NREGA irregularities in Dahod, which were confirmed by an inquiry, and an offence was registered there. Congress now claims that the expenditure ratio of 60% on labour and 40% on material was not maintained in NREGA work in Jambughoda taluka of Panchmahal district. This ratio must be maintained, according to NREGA guidelines. Leader of opposition in the Gujarat assembly, Amit Chavda, said that in NREGA works taken up in the taluka in 2021-22, 79% of the money was spent on materials. In 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25, expenditure on materials was 94%, 81% and 58%. He said that in all these years, the total expenditure on NREGA in the taluka was Rs 293 crore, and just 22% was spent on labour. Chavda said all four agencies supplying material for NREGA in the taluka are linked to BJP members. These agencies are Giriraj Traders, owned by BJP member Mayank Desai, who was recently appointed the district unit president of the party, Giriraj Enterprise owned by Jignesh Desai, and Giriraj Supplies owned by Mayank's wife and former district panchayat president, Keta Desai. Chavda alleged that Chhatrasinh Baria, the owner of the fourth agency, Jay Mataji Suppliers, was also close to a BJP leader. Chavda also pointed out that of the total expense of Rs 512 crore on material for NREGA works in the district, Jambughoda taluka spent Rs 216 crore, the highest. He added that the taluka was the smallest in the district and had a small population of just 42,000. He said that large numbers of works were done in even small villages in the taluka. Mayank rejected the allegations, saying they were aimed at targeting him and the party. "It is true that I have an agency for construction material. I have been supplying materials since 2017-18. It is the officials who raise the demand for materials, and we supply it," said Mayank. He said that beyond supplying material, he had no role in the development works. "I believe the works were taken up at the places where they have been shown. When we supply material, we take a certificate for the quality of the material, after which the billing and payment take place," Mayank said. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Brother's Day wishes , messages and quotes !
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Guj panchayat minister's son held in 71cr NREGA scam
Vadodara: on Saturday arrested , the son of the Gujarat minister of state for panchayats, , in connection with an alleged Rs 71 crore National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA) scam that was unearthed in the district last month. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Balwant, Khabad's elder son, was linked to firms that received payments for the supply of materials even when they did not qualify through a bidding process. Police said Balwant was linked to Shri Raj Construction Co, while the younger son, Kiran, was connected to Shri Raj Traders. Both firms were among those that received money despite not winning the bid. Police confirmed their links to the firms during the investigation. Balwant and Kiran also applied for anticipatory bail in a Dahod court but later withdrew their petitions. Kiran is still at large. Balwant and Kiran were evading arrest, but the former was caught near Bathwada toll plaza in the district. Another accused in the case, taluka development officer Darshit Patel, presently posted in Kheda, was also arrested. He was earlier posted in Devgadh Baria. Both Balwant and Patel were presented in a Dahod court and were remanded to police custody for five days. This is the first time in recent memory that a sitting minister's son was arrested. The total number of arrests in the scam now stands at seven. The scam was unearthed last month, and an offence was registered by the director of the District Rural Development Authority (DRDA), who conducted an inquiry into the matter after representations about the scam. The state unit of the Congress also made representations about the scam in the assembly and submitted a memorandum. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Dahod DRDA conducted an inquiry after directives from the Dahod district panchayat. The inquiry revealed that 32 firms that supplied materials for NREGA works in Devgadh Baria and Dhanpur villages were not authorised to do so as they had not emerged as the lowest bidders. These include 25 firms that supplied material in Devgadh Baria taluka, four in Dhanpur taluka, and three in both these talukas. The offence mentioned that these firms received an amount of Rs 71 crore towards material. They submitted bills despite not being selected in the bidding process, and these bills were cleared. It also came to light that some works were never taken up, and money was paid to the agencies. Leader of Opposition in Gujarat Assembly, Amit Chavda, meanwhile, demanded that a special investigation team should be formed for the investigations in the scam. He added that the scam could be much larger and more details can be unearthed if an honest investigation is conducted. Bachu Khabad is a BJP heavyweight and OBC leader who has been an MLA since 2012.
