<p>Two days after independent MLA Jignesh Mevani and Gujarat Congress' Working President Hardik Patel alleged widespread corruption in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in the state, an FIR was registered against unidentified officials responsible for implementing the scheme in Banaskantha district in north Gujarat.</p>.<p>Officials said that the FIR was registered on Sunday late in the night after an inquiry conducted by district officials found illegality in the scheme's implementation as alleged by the two leaders in a press conference held in Ahmedabad on Saturday. Officials said that the FIR was registered at Amrigadh police station under various sections of Indian Penal Code including forgery and related offences along with conspiracy. The FIR is based on a complaint filed by the Deputy District Development Officer.</p>.<p>READ: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/gujarat-jignesh-mevani-cong-working-president-hardik-patel-expose-widespread-corruption-in-mnrega-868441.html" target="_blank"><strong>Gujarat: Jignesh Mevani, Cong working President Hardik Patel 'expose' widespread corruption in MNREGA</strong></a></p>.<p>"We have found some wrongdoings in the implementation of the scheme and, therefore, we filed an FIR with the police for a neutral probe. Our departmental inquiry is also going on to find out people who are responsible for this," District Development Officer, Ajay Dahiya told DH. He said that the internal inquiry has revealed "deletion of 226 job cards without following procedures and we suspect these cards were also bogus." He added that these cards were made 2014 onwards.</p>.<p>When contacted, Banaskantha Superintendent of Police Tarun Duggal said that FIR was registered on Sunday night based on a complaint that prima facie suggest illegality in MNREGA scheme.</p>.<p>As a matter of fact, the details provided by Mevani and Hardik Patel had revealed 264 job cards of Balundra village, Amirgadh taluka, were deleted in the month of April and June without following procedure that mandates verification of beneficiaries, presentation of such cases to gram panchayats and making the data public. Dahiya confirmed such procedures were not followed.</p>.<p>On the other hand, Jignesh Mevani, who is also an MLA from Dehgam constituency in the district, had said, "These job cards were not only deleted illegally but also forged in the name of villagers who never worked under the scheme. There are details of money paid to fictitious persons through bank accounts opened in the name of people who had no idea about it. We believe that nearly Rs10 crore was swindled in such manner in the past ten years." </p>.<p>He added, "What we have found in Balundra village is just a tip of the iceberg. We have evidence to show that not just 300-odd villages in Banaskantha but across the state similar scam is going on running into multi-crore."</p>
<p>Two days after independent MLA Jignesh Mevani and Gujarat Congress' Working President Hardik Patel alleged widespread corruption in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in the state, an FIR was registered against unidentified officials responsible for implementing the scheme in Banaskantha district in north Gujarat.</p>.<p>Officials said that the FIR was registered on Sunday late in the night after an inquiry conducted by district officials found illegality in the scheme's implementation as alleged by the two leaders in a press conference held in Ahmedabad on Saturday. Officials said that the FIR was registered at Amrigadh police station under various sections of Indian Penal Code including forgery and related offences along with conspiracy. The FIR is based on a complaint filed by the Deputy District Development Officer.</p>.<p>READ: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/gujarat-jignesh-mevani-cong-working-president-hardik-patel-expose-widespread-corruption-in-mnrega-868441.html" target="_blank"><strong>Gujarat: Jignesh Mevani, Cong working President Hardik Patel 'expose' widespread corruption in MNREGA</strong></a></p>.<p>"We have found some wrongdoings in the implementation of the scheme and, therefore, we filed an FIR with the police for a neutral probe. Our departmental inquiry is also going on to find out people who are responsible for this," District Development Officer, Ajay Dahiya told DH. He said that the internal inquiry has revealed "deletion of 226 job cards without following procedures and we suspect these cards were also bogus." He added that these cards were made 2014 onwards.</p>.<p>When contacted, Banaskantha Superintendent of Police Tarun Duggal said that FIR was registered on Sunday night based on a complaint that prima facie suggest illegality in MNREGA scheme.</p>.<p>As a matter of fact, the details provided by Mevani and Hardik Patel had revealed 264 job cards of Balundra village, Amirgadh taluka, were deleted in the month of April and June without following procedure that mandates verification of beneficiaries, presentation of such cases to gram panchayats and making the data public. Dahiya confirmed such procedures were not followed.</p>.<p>On the other hand, Jignesh Mevani, who is also an MLA from Dehgam constituency in the district, had said, "These job cards were not only deleted illegally but also forged in the name of villagers who never worked under the scheme. There are details of money paid to fictitious persons through bank accounts opened in the name of people who had no idea about it. We believe that nearly Rs10 crore was swindled in such manner in the past ten years." </p>.<p>He added, "What we have found in Balundra village is just a tip of the iceberg. We have evidence to show that not just 300-odd villages in Banaskantha but across the state similar scam is going on running into multi-crore."</p>
