Dahod MGNREGA scam: Minister’s son re-arrested as fresh ₹49.93 lakh fraud surfaces
Updated: Jun 2nd, 2025
Balvant Khabad, son of Gujarat State Agriculture Minister Bachu Khabad, has been re-arrested in connection with a fresh ₹49.93 lakh scam under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Dahod district. This marks the third police complaint filed in the widening investigation into corruption linked to works that were never carried out but were billed and paid for.
The new FIR pertains to 11 soil-metal works in Bhanpur village of Dhanpur taluka that were allegedly never executed, despite official records and payments suggesting otherwise. According to a fact-finding report by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) submitted on May 29, ₹12.12 lakh was disbursed as labour cost and ₹37.81 lakh as material cost — a total of ₹49.93 lakh — for works that remained only on paper.
Balvant, proprietor of Shree Raj Construction in Pipero village, is accused of submitting 22 bogus bills without supplying any material and receiving ₹33.86 lakh in payments. He was presented before a judge at his residence, where the police initiated proceedings to seek a 14-day remand.
The arrest comes just two days after Balvant and his brother Kiran Khabad were released on bail in an earlier ₹71 crore MNREGA scam that spanned three villages in Devgadh Baria and Dhanpur talukas. A total of 14 individuals, including both sons of the minister, had been arrested in that case. Following their release, police filed two additional FIRs and re-arrested the brothers in separate scams.
In the Lavariya village case, Kiran Khabad was apprehended shortly after his release and remanded for seven days. In both Lavariya and Bhanpur, public works such as road construction and soil work were billed under MNREGA but allegedly not executed.
The police have filed a revision application in the Sessions Court challenging the bail granted to the minister’s sons in the ₹71 crore scam. Notices were issued for both to appear in court for a hearing scheduled for Monday.
Local outrage over the scams has grown, with residents and activists demanding an impartial probe. Earlier investigations indicated that tribal labourers were misled with false promises, their documents and job cards were misused, and large sums were withdrawn from their bank accounts without their knowledge. Allegations of political collusion have also surfaced, with claims that a prominent local BJP leader held multiple ATM cards belonging to tribal workers.
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