A major irregularity has come to light under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Kaitha village of Gangev Janpad Panchayat in Rewa district, where an RTI activist's identity was allegedly misused to show fictitious employment without any work being executed.

The case involves fabrication of muster rolls in the name of Shivanand Dwivedi, a local RTI and social activist from Kaitha, for a pond construction project on his own land that never took off. Following a detailed probe, the MGNREGA cell of the district panchayat has held the village panchayat secretary and two engineers guilty of financial irregularities.

Complaint Triggers Probe

Dwivedi had received technical approval for construction of a farm pond on his land under MGNREGA during the financial year 2023-24, with an estimated cost exceeding ₹3.85 lakh. However, when no work began despite the sanction, he approached the Chief Minister's Helpline on May 21, 2025, seeking early commencement of the project.

Instead of initiating the work, officials allegedly created fake muster rolls under job card entries bearing muster roll numbers 9296, 9298, and 9299, showing that Dwivedi himself had been provided 20 days of employment. The portal even reflected a payment of ₹42.28 credited to his account with ₹1,617.36 shown as pending.

No Evidence of Work on Ground

District MGNREGA Accounts Officer Yogendra Pandey conducted the inquiry. During the investigation, the then panchayat secretary failed to produce any supporting documents such as attendance photos, demand applications, or signed muster rolls from the worksite. Site verification confirmed that no construction activity had taken place at the location.

Shockingly, the assistant engineer and junior engineer had still processed the online evaluation and verification of the work through the e-MB (electronic Measurement Book) system, marking it as complete. The probe report described this as serious negligence and financial misconduct.

Officials Held Guilty

The 31-page investigation report submitted to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Zila Panchayat has held three officials responsible:

- Mahesh Patel, Secretary, Gram Panchayat Kaitha

- Praveen Pandey, then Junior Engineer

- Nikhil Mishra, then Assistant Engineer

The report has strongly recommended statutory and departmental action against them.

Impact on MGNREGA Implementation

This latest exposure has created ripples across Rewa’s rural development department. MGNREGA, which guarantees 100 days of wage employment to rural households, has often faced criticism in various parts of Madhya Pradesh over issues of fake job cards, ghost beneficiaries, and inflated measurements.

For Shivanand Dwivedi, the matter is particularly ironic. As an RTI activist, he has been raising questions on local governance for years. Using his name without consent for fictitious work has raised serious concerns about data security and misuse of Aadhaar-linked job cards in the scheme.

Local Reactions

Villagers in Kaitha expressed surprise over the development. Many said such irregularities erode trust in a scheme meant to provide livelihood security to the poorest. Some demanded strict action so that genuine beneficiaries do not suffer due to such scams.

What Lies Ahead

The Zila Panchayat CEO is expected to take a final call on the recommended action soon. Officials indicated that recovery of any wrongly shown payments and suspension or major penalties against the guilty officers are likely.

The case once again highlights the need for stronger ground-level monitoring, use of geo-tagging, and regular social audits in MGNREGA works to prevent recurrence of such frauds.