Madhya Pradesh: Fraud Marriages Under Flagship Scheme Raise Corruption Stink

Thousands of fraud 'on paper' marriages in a Madhya Pradesh district to siphon off money meant for a government welfare scheme have landed the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in controversy. The opposition Congress has alleged a state-wide scam by the BJP and the state government has said that it has zero tolerance for corruption and will take immediate action if there was "a mistake in the system".

The case relates to irregularities in the chief minister's flagship Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah/Nikah Yojana that is aimed at labourers registered with the state's Building and Other Construction Workers Board. Under the scheme, Rs 51,000 is given as financial assistance to newly married couples to help economically weaker families marry off their daughters.

Following an investigation by the state's Economic Offences Wing (EOW), it has been revealed that the scam was being carried out through a network of touts who used to approach gullible poor villagers, take their bank details on some pretext and siphon off the money transferred into their accounts.

During the pandemic, the state government had put a restriction on wedding ceremonies, but in Sironj Tehsil of Vidisha district, more than 5,000 couples have been married off under the scheme. Some of the beneficiaries don't exist, some are children and some are even close relatives of officials allegedly involved in the scam.

NDTV spoke to several such people who were victims of the scam.

Shazia and her elder sister, who got married 13 years back, are among the victims of the fraud. According to her mother, who is visually impaired, some village boys took her thumb impression and documents in the pretext of construction of a toilet. They had then become beneficiaries under the Mukhymantri Nikah Yojana, a scheme they had never applied for. In reality, neither the toilet was built nor was the money received. EOW officers informed the family that Rs one lakh was transferred to their account for the marriage of their two daughters.

Balkishan's daughter married a man of her own choice and did not apply for the scheme, yet some middlemen forced her father to apply for funds under the marriage scheme. They gave Balkishan Rs 12,000 and kept the rest.

Gorelal, who works as a labourer, married off his two daughters under the Chief Minister's Kanya Vivah Yojana. He submitted all the documents but never received any money, but ironically, he is listed in government records as a beneficiary.
     
In the Sironj block of Vidisha district, officials paid Rs 30.40 crore to 5,976 beneficiaries under the scheme in the last year. The state Economic Offence Wing has arrested Shobhit Tripathi, CEO Janpad panchayat, in connection with the scam. He is the brother-in-law of a powerful BJP minister.

The opposition Congress has alleged that it is a statewide scam and that the ruling BJP wants to confine the investigations only till Sironj.

Cabinet minister Vishwas Sarang said, "We are working on zero tolerance in cases of corruption in MP. If there is a mistake in the system, we take immediate action. We are committed...If anyone commits corruption in the government scheme, he won't be spared".

Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja said, "EOW should probe this corrupt practice in every district. Even during Corona, corrupt officers are growing and every government scheme is being misused."

According to sources in the EOW, this racket was so clever that people who have 5 to 7 children were targeted. They are mostly illiterate and do not complain even if they don't receive the money even after handing over the required documents. They fear that they will be banned from other schemes that have requirements in the number of children.

The middleman used to get Rs 15,000-20,000. Employees of 11 banks from where the money has been withdrawn are also under the scanner.