MGNREGA scam in Vadodara: Deceased woman’s account misused

A fraud has been uncovered in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme in Samasabad village, Vadodara. A female labourer, Gangaben Ravjibhai Patanvadiya, had died, but her name continued to be used on MGNREGA job cards, resulting in the fraudulent withdrawal of funds from her bank account.

Madhuriben Kanchanbhai Patel, the Vadodara Taluka Development Officer, filed a complaint at the Varnama police station against an unknown person. She stated that before joining her duties, MGNREGA scheme funds were directly deposited into workers bank accounts. Even though the worker, Gangaben Ravjibhai Patanwadi, had passed away, regular payments were deposited into her account. Normally, the amount deposited in a worker’s account was withdrawn from the ATM of a bank located on Vasna Bhayli Road.

According to the Director of Rural Development Agency, Vadodara, an investigation was conducted. It was found that job cards were issued to the job card holders of Samasabad for employment from June to December 2022 in five phases. Job cards need to be cancelled after the death of the worker, but in this case, the deceased's name was kept active, and attendance was shown. An amount of ₹17,925 was deposited into her bank account as wages.

After the discovery of the MGNREGA scheme fraud in Samasabad, the Taluka Panchayat issued a notice to the deceased woman’s heir, Laljibhai, to recover ₹17,925. However, Laljibhai did not accept the notice, so the Panchayat posted the notice on the wall.

The case has highlighted serious flaws in the MGNREGA system and raised concerns about corruption at the local level.