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.”
The complaint further alleges that the contractors failed to meet material specifications. According to the FIR, “They did not use metal of the required thickness, failed to incorporate quarry spoil, and did not supply the approved construction materials. Instead, they fraudulently inflated material usage figures and generated bogus bills.”
The scale of the fraud was significant. “Knowing the bills were fabricated,” the FIR states, “Muralidhar Enterprise claimed Rs 13,05,676.51 and Jalaram Enterprise claimed Rs 6,58,898.89. Both amounts were processed and disbursed as genuine, leading to wrongful gains totalling Rs 19,64,575.40 by the contractors.”
However, the fraud was not limited to private entities alone. The FIR delivers damning accusations against government personnel, asserting a broader, premeditated conspiracy. “Although both agencies were only authorised to supply materials,” the complaint reads, “government officers, employees, and contractual staff colluded with them, bypassing MGNREGA’s e-Gram Panchayat protocols. They undertook mechanical construction of roads and submitted fake work proposals.”
The fallout, as revealed in the FIR, is massive: “This collusion led to the embezzlement of public property, submission of fraudulent proposals, misappropriation of funds, and ultimately, a loss of Rs 7.3 crore to the state exchequer across 56 villages in Bharuch taluka.”
The FIR concludes by framing the act as “a breach of trust and criminal deception against the government,” accusing all involved of orchestrating deep-rooted financial irregularities under the pretense of rural development.
The Congress party has launched a fierce attack on BJP leaders and the ruling government, directly linking them to the widening MGNREGA scam in Gujarat.
“We submitted a written plea to the TDO and DDO two years ago, but it was ignored,” said GPCC State General Secretary Sandeep Singh Mangrola. “BJP leaders are involved, so no fair probe is happening. If a real investigation takes place, it will reach Gandhinagar. We demand a SIT under judicial oversight to probe MGNREGA scams across Gujarat.”
Opposition Leader Amit Chavda first exposed a Rs 250 crore MGNREGA scam in Devgadhbaria and Dhanpur, Dahod. Subsequent probes confirmed Rs 71 crore siphoned off, implicating firms linked to Minister Bachu Khabar’s sons, both arrested. Next, Congress revealed a Rs 109 crore fraud in Jambughoda, implicating BJP-linked agencies. Then came AAP MLA Chaitar Vasava, uncovering a scam in Narmada, tied to a Congress leader from Junagadh. Now, Bharuch joins the growing list of districts tainted by the MGNREGA scam trail.