Guj panchayat minister's son held in 71cr NREGA scam

Vadodara: Dahod police on Saturday arrested Balwant Khabad, the son of the Gujarat minister of state for panchayats, Bachu Khabad, in connection with an alleged Rs 71 crore National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA) scam that was unearthed in the district last month.

Balwant, Khabad's elder son, was linked to firms that received payments for the supply of materials even when they did not qualify through a bidding process. Police said Balwant was linked to Shri Raj Construction Co, while the younger son, Kiran, was connected to Shri Raj Traders. Both firms were among those that received money despite not winning the bid. Police confirmed their links to the firms during the investigation. Balwant and Kiran also applied for anticipatory bail in a Dahod court but later withdrew their petitions. Kiran is still at large.

Balwant and Kiran were evading arrest, but the former was caught near Bathwada toll plaza in the district. Another accused in the case, taluka development officer Darshit Patel, presently posted in Kheda, was also arrested. He was earlier posted in Devgadh Baria. Both Balwant and Patel were presented in a Dahod court and were remanded to police custody for five days.

This is the first time in recent memory that a sitting minister's son was arrested. The total number of arrests in the scam now stands at seven. The scam was unearthed last month, and an offence was registered by the director of the District Rural Development Authority (DRDA), who conducted an inquiry into the matter after representations about the scam. The state unit of the Congress also made representations about the scam in the assembly and submitted a memorandum.

Dahod DRDA conducted an inquiry after directives from the Dahod district panchayat. The inquiry revealed that 32 firms that supplied materials for NREGA works in Devgadh Baria and Dhanpur villages were not authorised to do so as they had not emerged as the lowest bidders. These include 25 firms that supplied material in Devgadh Baria taluka, four in Dhanpur taluka, and three in both these talukas.

The offence mentioned that these firms received an amount of Rs 71 crore towards material. They submitted bills despite not being selected in the bidding process, and these bills were cleared. It also came to light that some works were never taken up, and money was paid to the agencies.

Leader of Opposition in Gujarat Assembly, Amit Chavda, meanwhile, demanded that a special investigation team should be formed for the investigations in the scam. He added that the scam could be much larger and more details can be unearthed if an honest investigation is conducted.

Bachu Khabad is a BJP heavyweight and OBC leader who has been an MLA since 2012.