Ahmedabad: In a major crackdown on alleged financial irregularities under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Congress leader Heera Jotwa, his son Digvijay Jotwa, and scheme operator Rajesh Tailor were arrested on Friday in connection with a ₹7.3 crore fraud in Gujarat’s Bharuch district, officials confirmed.
The arrests followed an investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the diversion of funds intended for rural infrastructure development in Hansot, Bharuch.
According to Bharuch Superintendent of Police (SP) Mayur Chavda, the trio was involved in the fabrication of work completion certificates, use of forged documents, and diversion of scheme funds into bank accounts linked to the Jotwa family.
📂 Details of the Scam
The alleged fraud was unearthed after a detailed audit conducted by the District Rural Development Authority (DRDA), which flagged major discrepancies in the implementation of MGNREGA-funded projects across 56 villages in the Amod, Jambusar, and Hansot talukas.
Key findings include:
- Use of machines instead of mandated manual labour.
- Inflated billing by contractors.
- Substandard materials used in construction.
- Falsified documentation to show fake project completions.
Police sources said the scam was executed over multiple projects, primarily road construction and other rural development works.
🧑⚖️ Legal and Political Fallout
The Bharuch district administration filed an FIR on May 30 after reviewing the audit report. The SIT was promptly constituted to investigate the full extent of the misappropriation.
Heera Jotwa, a veteran Congress leader from Saurashtra, had contested the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections from Keshod and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Junagadh. He was summoned from Gir Somnath district on Thursday and brought to Bharuch for questioning.
The Congress party, meanwhile, hit back. Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi condemned the arrests, alleging political vendetta by the BJP-led government. He demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter and called for action against government officials involved in sanctioning the fraudulent works.
“This is political harassment. If there is a scam, then those in administrative positions who passed the works must also be held accountable,” Doshi said.
📈 Background on MGNREGA
Launched in 2005, the MGNREGA scheme guarantees 100 days of wage employment per year to rural households. It aims to alleviate poverty, build rural assets, and promote participatory development.
However, experts and audits have long flagged issues such as leakages, corruption, and poor oversight in the scheme’s execution.
🚨 More Arrests Likely
Authorities have stated that further arrests are expected as the probe widens. Police officials confirmed that multiple bank transactions and records are under scrutiny to determine the extent of collusion and financial misappropriation.
The SIT is expected to submit a preliminary report in the coming weeks.