Minister’s Son Held in ₹71Cr MGNREGA Scam

Rupee 71-Crore MGNREGA Scam Exposes Deep-Rooted Corruption in Gujarat: Minister’s Son Arrested, Brother Absconding

 

Gujarat’s rural employment machinery has been rocked by a massive fraud scandal totalling Rupee 71 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), leading to the arrest of Balwant Khabod, son of State Panchayat and Agriculture Minister Bachu Khabod. His brother, Kiran Khabod, remains absconding.

The scam, centred in Dahod district, involves systematic embezzlement of public funds intended to provide basic livelihood to the rural poor. Investigators have revealed that government-sanctioned projects—ranging from roads to bunds—were either never executed or existed only on paper, while payments were diverted to agencies linked to the minister’s sons.

Balwant and Kiran Khabod had previously sought anticipatory bail after their agencies, Raj Construction and Raj Traders, came under scrutiny. Their names emerged during a probe initiated by a complaint from B.M. Patel, Director of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), following irregularities in project execution across the tribal regions of Devgadh Baria and Dhanpur.

Between 2021 and 2025, large-scale development works were shown as completed in the villages of Kuva, Redhana and Simamoi, despite little or no physical work being done. Completion certificates were forged, and payments were processed to agencies that neither participated in tenders nor fulfilled any contractual obligations.

Authorities uncovered that 35 material supply agencies—28 from Devgadh Baria and seven from Dhanpur—received fraudulent payments through collusion with local officials. These entities submitted bogus claims and invoices for MGNREGA-related work, with senior officials allegedly turning a blind eye.

Following a preliminary investigation, the District Development Officer (DDO) halted all ongoing MGNREGA-related payments. Inspections revealed widespread document falsification, missing work logs, and ghost sites. Claims worth Rupee 160 crore remain pending, many dating back to the tenure of former DDOs Rachit Raj and Neha Kumari.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to probe the scam further. So far, Rupee 60.90 crore in fraudulent activity has been traced in Devgadh Baria, with another Rupee 10.10 crore in Dhanpur. Officials believe the total figure could rise significantly as the investigation expands to other talukas.

Opposition Leader Amit Chavda had previously warned of the scandal in a letter to the Chief Minister, estimating the fraud at a staggering Rupee 250 crore. According to Chavda, Raj Construction and Raj Traders—owned by Balwant and Kiran Khabod—received inflated payments over four years, with no accountability or verification.

“This is daylight robbery of the poorest citizens of Gujarat,” said Chavda in a public statement. “The funds meant for labourers were looted by those in power. A state-level criminal inquiry must be ordered immediately, and the minister must resign.”

Despite mounting pressure, Minister Bachu Khabod has remained silent, and the ruling BJP has yet to issue an official statement on the involvement of a sitting cabinet minister’s family in one of the largest rural welfare frauds in the state’s history.

What began as a routine audit has now erupted into a political crisis, exposing deep-rooted corruption in government welfare implementation. As investigations continue, public trust in the system lies in tatters—and justice remains far from guaranteed.