Paper shows ponds, ground reveals ploughed fields:Morena CEO inspects site; secretary rejects probe, claims ponds exist but weren’t seen

A major corruption case has been exposed in the Doddari gram panchayat under Porsa Janpad in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh, where two new ponds were shown to have been constructed on paper under the MNREGA scheme at a cost of around ₹29 lakh. Around 180 labourers were shown as present through fake muster rolls, and payments worth lakhs of rupees were allegedly withdrawn fraudulently. Complaint triggers inspection; officials find ploughed field instead of ponds Following complaints by villagers, Janpad Panchayat CEO Sunita Sharma reached the site for inspection. Instead of ponds, she found a ploughed agricultural field, while official records showed pond construction at the same location. According to records, labour work for pond construction was shown on May 30 and May 31, but no workers were present at the site. The Doddari panchayat was allegedly filling fake muster rolls under the “new farm pond construction” project, and so far ₹14.10 lakh has already been withdrawn for both projects. Two major fake projects under scrutiny First case: A farm pond project was sanctioned near Mukut Singh’s field in Tehra area on Khasra No. 709, with an estimated cost of ₹14,88,336. Records show 180 workers were engaged in digging from May 24 to May 31, and wages were withdrawn accordingly. Second case: Another farm pond project near a mosque on Khasra No. 567 was shown under construction at an estimated cost of ₹14,88,617. Here too, 180 workers were shown engaged from May 24 to May 31. However, at the site, no workers were found during inspection. Wages will be zero, withdrawn amount will be recovered Porsa Janpad CEO Sunita Sharma said complaints of MNREGA irregularities were being received continuously in Doddari panchayat. During inspection, neither ponds nor workers were found at the site. She stated that wages shown in records will be reduced to zero and the entire amount withdrawn in the name of labour will be recovered from the panchayat. Sarpanch and secretary dispute findings Panchayat secretary Shyam Sundar Sharma questioned the inspection report and called it false, claiming that ponds do exist and the CEO was unable to identify them. Sarpanch Suresh Singh Tomar also claimed that the inspected site was indeed a pond area, but villagers cultivate crops there seasonally, which is why it appeared ploughed. Villagers allege protection to officials Complaint petitioner Gaurav Tomar alleged large-scale MNREGA scam in the panchayat and said repeated complaints were earlier made to former CEO Devendra Jain, but no action was taken due to alleged protection extended to the sarpanch and secretary. Attempts to contact sub-engineer Harsh Samadhia and district panchayat CEO Kamlesh Bhargava remained unsuccessful as their phones were switched off.