The Madhya Pradesh government will launch its flagship Chief Minister Jan Vishwas Campaign on August 7, with officers set to visit villages and urban wards to resolve public grievances at the grassroots level. Ahead of the rollout, Chief Secretary Ashok Barnwal on Wednesday reviewed preparations through a video conference with collectors, divisional commissioners and senior district officials across the state.

Addressing collectors for the first time since assuming office as Chief Secretary, Barnwal directed officials to treat the campaign as a top administrative priority and warned that negligence at any level would not be tolerated.

Advance Resolution of Pending Cases

The Chief Secretary instructed district administrations to constitute teams at the ward and gram panchayat level and ensure that pending complaints and public applications are resolved before the scheduled camps.

He said preliminary action should be completed at least a week before the camps so that citizens receive immediate relief during the campaign.

Officials were asked to make the initiative result-oriented by focusing on measurable outcomes rather than routine administrative exercises.

Weekly Review Every Friday

As part of the campaign, divisional and district-level officers will undertake field visits every Friday to review the implementation of government welfare schemes.

During these inspections, officials will monitor:

• Pending CM Helpline complaints

• Public grievance applications

• Cases under the Public Service Guarantee Act

• Implementation of beneficiary-oriented schemes

Collectors have also been directed to prepare a detailed schedule for visits at the block or cluster level and inform public representatives in advance.

Direct Public Interaction

The campaign will begin with direct interaction between government officials and local residents.

Authorities will present the status of pending complaints received through the CM Helpline and Jan Sunwai platforms, while fresh applications from citizens will also be accepted during the camps.

The government has instructed that, wherever possible, these public interaction programmes should be organised within government premises to ensure better accessibility and coordination.

Divisional commissioners will also conduct regular field inspections along with departmental officers to monitor implementation.

Schools, Hospitals and Fair Price Shops Under Inspection

Apart from grievance redressal, officials have been asked to inspect key public institutions during their visits, including:

• Government schools

• Public hospitals

• Anganwadi centres

• Fair price shops

• Other government offices

The inspections will focus on service delivery, implementation of welfare schemes and resolution of local administrative issues.

Digital Monitoring Through Online Portal

The Chief Secretary said the campaign's progress will be monitored through a dedicated online portal.

Districts will be evaluated based on the disposal of pending public grievances. Matters requiring additional funds or policy-level decisions will be escalated through divisional commissioners for coordination with the respective departments.

The campaign will also include industry interaction programmes, where officials will engage with MSMEs and other entrepreneurs to address business-related concerns.

Revenue and Welfare Cases to be Prioritised

The administration has identified several categories of pending cases for priority disposal during the campaign, including:

• Undisputed land mutation cases

• Land partition matters

• Revenue record corrections

• Farmer ID registration

• Aadhaar-related issues

• Applications under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

• Other pending citizen service applications

Officials have been instructed to clear as many pending matters as possible before the camps begin.

The campaign will also include inspections of fertiliser and seed warehouses, LPG storage facilities and petrol pumps to ensure compliance and uninterrupted public services.

With the Jan Vishwas Campaign set to begin on August 7, the state government aims to strengthen direct citizen engagement, improve service delivery and accelerate resolution of long-pending grievances at the grassroots level.

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.