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Indian Express
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Congress VP Hira Jotva arrested in Rs 7.3 crore MGNREGA scam in Bharuch; party says ‘vindictive move by BJP'
Over a month after an FIR was filed against two Gir-Somnath based agencies in Gujarat for an alleged MGNREGA scam of Rs 7.3 crore in the Bharuch district, district police arrested Gujarat Congress Vice President Hira Jotva in the case late on Thursday night. An alleged 'outsourced' technical staff person, Ramesh Tailor, was also arrested on Thursday. Bharuch district police said that evidence shows Jotva allegedly being a 'partner' in both firms and 'having directly used the siphoned funds' from the MGNREGA scheme. District Superintendent of Police Mayur Chavda told The Indian Express, 'We have evidence that shows that Jotva was a sleeping partner in both the agencies that were contracted in Bharuch and had a direct involvement in the irregularity being investigated. We are also probing the money trail as there is evidence that Jotva has used the money that was siphoned off… He was brought to Bharuch and arrested late on Thursday night.' The FIR was lodged by Assistant MGNREGA account officer P U Chaudhary of the Bharuch District Rural Development Authority against Veraval-based Jalaram Enterprises (owned by Piyush Nukani) and Murlidhar Enterprises (owned by Jodha Sabhad). It states, 'The irregularity relates to MGNREGA projects in Amod, Jambusar, and Hansot talukas of the district… As per the complaint received from an infrastructure company, the two agencies contracted to supply material had passed bills in violation of tender conditions…' The arrests of Jotva and Tailor are the first in the case as agency owners Nukani and Sabhad are 'on the run', police said. Chavda said that the two agencies, as per the procedure under MGNREGA, had appointed an outsourced technical assistant, Ramesh Tailor, who was stationed at the office of the Taluka Development Officer (TDO) of Hansot taluka. He allegedly 'created forged documents at Jotva's behest'. Chavda said, 'Tailor created the documents used for the misappropriation, including forged bills… The MGNREGA provisions mandatorily require the expenses to be in the ratio of 60:40 in favour of labour and raw material. However, in this case, the accused showed material cost up to 80% of the total amount, which disturbs the ratio and indicates a scam.' Chavda added that apart from inflated bills, the agencies allegedly also showed completed works which 'did not exist on the ground' to embezzle funds. Both Chavda and Tailor will be produced in court on Friday evening. Reacting to Jotva's arrest, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee Spokesperson Manish Doshi told The Indian Express that Jotva has been 'victimised' as he 'did not succumb to the pressure of quitting the Congress'. 'The story being weaved against Hirabhai Jotva that just because two agency owners are known to him, he is involved in the scam, exposes the two-faced approach of the BJP… The state government, on the one hand, has not even initiated an action against its Cabinet Minister Bachubhai Khabad even after both his sons have been arrested in multiple FIRs for alleged MGNREGA scams but here, Jotva is arrested just for being acquainted with the agencies,' he said. 'Jotva has documents to fight his case. He is a powerful leader of the Ahir community in his region… There has been a lot of pressure on him to quit the Congress since a while now but he has not succumbed. This arrest is a result of the vindictive nature of BJP, which wanted him to toe their line. We have full faith in the judiciary and we will fight a legal battle,' Doshi said. Senior BJP leaders refused to comment on the Congress' stand in the issue. Jotva, who is among the nine Vice Presidents of Gujarat Congress, had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha polls in 2024 from Junagadh and also the Keshod Assembly constituency in the Gujarat Assembly polls of 2022. The FIR states that following a detailed investigation into the complaint, it was found that in works of building roads in villages of Jambusar, Amod and Hansot talukas, 'inflated bills of material supply' were allegedly presented while only a small amount of material was allegedly used. 'The bills put forth from Jambusar were for 128.40 cubic metres of material, while the actual material used was 28.32 cubic metres against the stipulated use of 103 cubic metres…' the FIR states. Similar discrepancies were also 'discovered' in a total of 56 villages. The Bharuch district FIR had come just a week after the Dahod district police had re-arrested two sons of Gujarat Minister of State for Panchayat and Agriculture Bachubhai Khabad in one common and two separate FIRs lodged in Dahod B-Division police station to probe another alleged MGNREGA-related scam of over Rs 100 crore.
New Indian Express
26-06-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Gujarat Congress Vice President Hira Jotva grilled by police over Rs 7.3 crore MNREGA scam
AHMEDABAD: An assistant project manager has flagged a shocking MNREGA scam worth Rs 7.3 crore across villages in Gujarat's Bharuch district, Amod, Jambusar, and Hansot Taluka. Acting on the complaint, Bharuch police have now summoned Congress leader Hira Jotva from Gir Somnath for questioning. Sources indicate that police may move toward arresting him following the interrogation. The Rs 7.30 crore fraud, spanning 430 development works across 56 villages in Amod, Jambusar, and Hansot talukas, was first flagged on May 30 by a government official from the Gram Vikas Agency, who filed a formal complaint at Bharuch's A Division Police Station. The investigation zeroed in on two Veraval-based firms — Shri Jalaram Enterprise and Muralidhar Enterprise — contracted for supplying material under MNREGA projects. These agencies allegedly manipulated records, provided substandard material, and bypassed mandatory manual labour by using machines, thereby violating the core principles of the rural employment scheme and causing massive losses to the state exchequer. Police identified Piyush Nukani, owner of Shri Jalaram Enterprise, and Jodhabhai Sabhad, owner of Muralidhar Enterprise, as key players in the racket.
Indian Express
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
MGNREGA ‘scam': Now, another FIR registered against 2 Bharuch agencies, political slugfest ensues
Following two FIRs lodged in Dahod district for alleged scams, worth Rs 71 crore, under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) – in which two sons of Gujarat Minister of State for Panchayat and Agriculture, Bachubhai Khabad — Kiran and Balvantsinh — were also arrested, the Bharuch district police on Saturday booked two Gir-Somnath based agencies for allegedly a similar MGNREGA scam of Rs 7.30 crore. The development led to a political slugfest with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Chaitar Vasava alleging that the Bharuch agencies were linked to Congress leader Hira Jotva even as the latter refuted the allegations. The FIR lodged by the Assistant MGNREGA account officer PU Chaudhary of the Bharuch District Rural Development Authority against Veraval-based Jalaram Enterprises, owned by Piyush Nukani and Murlidhar Enterprises by Jodha Sabhad states that the agencies allegedly defrauded the state government of Rs 7.30 crore. 'The irregularity relates to MGNREGA projects in Amod, Jambusar, and Hansot talukas of the district… As per the process, e-tendering was undertaken to procure materials… As per the provisions, works above Rs 5 lakh can be sanctioned by the Executive Engineer while for works under Rs 5 lakh… can be taken from the Deputy Executive Engineer. As per the complaint received from an infrastructure company, the two agencies contracted to supply material had passed bills in violation of tender conditions…,' states the FIR. The FIR states that following a detailed investigation into the complaint, it was found that in works of building roads in villages of Jambusar, Amod and Hansot talukas, inflated bills of material supply were presented while only a small amount of material was used. 'The bills put forth from Jambusar were for 128.40 cubic metres of material, while the actual material used was 28.32 cubic metre (Cum) as against the stipulated use of 103 Cum…' the FIR states. Similar discrepancies were also found in 56 villages, with an amount to the tune of Rs 7.30 crore. The FIR states that the scam was carried out 'in connivance' with the government officials, contractual MGNREGA officials to 'snatch away the daily bread of the unemployed persons who stood to benefit from the MGNREGA projects' as well as 'for financial benefit, at the cost of the state government exchequer.' On Saturday Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Dediapada in Narmada district, Chaitar Vasava blamed Gir-Somnath Congress leader Hira Jotva for the scam, alleging that the two agencies named in the FIR were linked to Jotva. Vasava said, 'The FIR has been lodged only for a scam of Rs 7.3 crore… But if one checks the accounts, only in a span of about an year, payments of Rs 60 crore have been cleared to the agencies. They have submitted forged bills without even supplying the materials. The bills are unverified and also non-GST bills… The MGNREGA scams are (being carried out) under the pressure of ministers and in connivance with the local officers, crores of rupees have been paid to these companies…' Vasava accused, 'a veteran Congress leader' for being the mastermind in the MGNREGA scam and said that Jotva — who contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Junagadh as a Congress candidate — is directly linked to the two firms booked in Bharuch. Vasava said, 'We had said a couple of days ago that the mastermind of the MGNREGA scam (in Bharuch) is a top Congress leader. Hira Jotva, who also contested the Junagadh Lok Sabha polls, is involved directly in these two agencies as two men working with him have been made proprietors in these agencies. An amount worth Rs 400 crore has been deposited in the accounts in various districts, including Narmada, Dahod, Panchmahal, Chhota Udepur and even Bharuch… The accounts must be carefully probed into to unearth the scam. We are not going to let it slip by. If strict action is not initiated in this case, we will start a public agitation.' Refuting Vasava's allegations, Jotva told this newspaper that AAP was the 'B-Team' of the BJP and was indulging in mud-slinging to benefit in the upcoming Visavadar Assembly constituency bypolls, where Gopal Italia is an AAP candidate. Hira Jotva told The Indian Express, 'Neither do the two agencies booked in Bharuch for the MGNREGA scam belong to me nor to any persons related to me… What Chaitar Vasava is trying to do is to distract people from the actual probe going on against the misdealings of people associated with the BJP. This is because AAP is working as the B team of the BJP to win the Visavadar polls with the BJP's support. I say that anyone involved in the MGNREGA scam anywhere should be punished.' Meanwhile, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) spokesperson Dr Manish Doshi said that AAP had approached Jotva — a local influential leader of the Ahir community — to back Italia in the upcoming polls and resorted to alleged attacks when the Congress leader refused to give in. Doshi said, 'The entire narrative is being woven around the Visavadar Assembly Constituency. AAP is the B-team of the BJP and is working to ensure that people are distracted from the MGNREGA scam in Dahod, in which the Panchayat minister's sons are involved… We all know that the corruption and irregularities are carried out by BJP leaders and the moment they come to light, the BJP starts a campaign through someone to divert attention.'
