Congress leader Heera Jotwa, son held in ₹7.3 crore MGNREGA rural jobs scheme case
Ahmedabad: Congress leader Heera Jotwa, his son Digvijay, and MGNREGA operator Rajesh Tailor were arrested on Friday for their alleged involvement in financial irregularities amounting to ₹ 7.3 crore in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme, which provides 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to rural households, police said. Started in 2005, MGNREGS was envisaged as a demand-based rural asset creation scheme to provide livelihood security through 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to every rural household. (Representative photo)
A special investigation team (SIT) is probing the fraudulent diversion of funds meant for rural development projects in Hansot, in Gujarat's Bharuch district, an officer said.
The financial irregularities, uncovered by the district rural development authority (DRDA), involved fake work completion certificates and forged documents, with funds transferred to accounts linked to the Jotwa family and others. 'Congress leader Heera Jotwa, his son Digvijay, and MGNREGA operator Rajesh Tailor were arrested on Friday,' Bharuch superintendent of police (SP) Mayur Chavda said.
Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi alleged political vendetta and demanded a judicial probe, while also calling for action against government officials who sanctioned the flawed works.
Started in 2005, MGNREGS was envisaged as a demand-based rural asset creation scheme to provide livelihood security through 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to every rural household. It has been described as a poverty alleviation, social security, infrastructure building, and participatory development programme. However, various studies have also pointed out leakages and failings in the programme due to poor implementation.
Jotwa was summoned from his home in the Gir Somnath district on Thursday and brought to Bharuch, where a special SIT team has been probing the misuse of funds allocated for road construction and development works in 56 villages across the Amod, Jambusar, and Hansot talukas, a police officer requesting anonymity said.
Also Read: Men dressed up in sarees to claim MNREGA funds in place of women
The irregularities came to light following a detailed audit that found glaring discrepancies in MGNREGA-funded projects, including the use of machines instead of manual labour, the supply of substandard materials, and inflated billing by contractors. Police said more arrests may follow in the coming days.
Jotwa, a prominent leader from the Saurashtra region, had contested the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections from Keshod and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Junagadh.
The Bharuch district administration lodged an FIR on May 30 after receiving the audit findings, and an SIT was formed to investigate the matter.
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