Overview

• Authorities uncovered a ₹71 crore fraud in Gujarat's Dahod district under the MGNREGA scheme, involving fake projects and forged documentation.
• Balwant Khabad, son of State Minister Bachu Khabad, and former Taluka Development Officer Darshan Patel have been arrested in connection with the scam.
• Kiran Khabad, the minister's younger son, remains absconding as investigations continue into the misuse of tribal welfare funds.
• The District Development Officer has frozen all MGNREGA payments in affected talukas, and a Special Investigation Team is probing systemic governance lapses.
• The fraud deprived tribal communities of employment benefits, intensifying scrutiny of political influence in welfare administration in Gujarat.