A police investigation into an alleged Rs 71-crore scam, stemming from works carried out under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), has led to a political controversy in Gujarat. At its centre is Bachubhai Khabad, the Minister of State for Panchayat and Agriculture, whose two sons have been arrested in the case. His son Balvantsinh was taken into custody on Saturday (May 17). Two days later, police apprehended Kiran, who had been absconding after withdrawing a jointly filed anticipatory bail plea in Dahod with his brother. What is the alleged scam? It came to light when BM Patel, Director of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), discovered significant irregularities in the payments for incomplete projects under the MGNREGA. Story continues below this ad The projects spanned two villages in the Devgadh Baria taluka and one village in the Dhanpur taluka, where several metres of road construction were left incomplete. However, payments were still made to “unauthorised agencies” using forged completion certificates between April 2021 and December 2024. Thirty-five unauthorised agencies, which did …