Tura, June 1: A large-scale alleged scam involving fraudulent Job Card enrolments under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has been uncovered in the Demdema Block of West Garo Hills district. Following this exposé, CoMSO has demanded an immediate halt to all MGNREGS financial disbursements for the current fiscal year and a comprehensive audit.
The irregularities were unearthed during a joint door-to-door verification drive on Friday by Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations (CoMSO) along with several organizations and government officials.
The verification initiative, undertaken on Friday following a directive from the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) of Dadenggre, was led by CoMSO General Secretary Balkarin Ch. Marak and Publicity Secretary Tony Tojrang B. Marak. Its primary objective was to expose fraudulent enrolments within the Demdema Block’s administrative boundaries.
The mission, particularly in Bangalpar, was executed in close coordination with various officials, including the Additional Programme Officer (APO), Assistant APO, Data Entry Operator (DEO), local law enforcement, Village Employment Council (VEC) President and Secretary, and several grassroots organizations. Notable participants included the Garoland State Movement Committee (GSMC) Headquarters, GSMC Rengmagre Unit, NGCO Chibinang Unit, GSU Chibinang Unit, and GFA Chibinang Unit.
During the extensive verification, numerous systemic malpractices in Job Card issuance came to light, such as single households possessing five to seven Job Cards, registered under various family members, despite the scheme’s provision for only one card per family. Furthermore, several Job Cards were found to have been issued without the mandatory approval or oversight from the Block Development Officer (BDO), a clear violation of protocol.
They also discovered registration of minors as Job Card holders, an outright contravention of MGNREGS guidelines. They also found instances of single individuals being listed multiple times under different Job Cards, an action CoMSO alleged was intended to inflate job demand and wage claims.
“The scale of anomalies discovered points not to mere oversight, but to a colossal scam of multi-crore magnitude that has persisted under Demdema Block from 2019 to 2025,” stated Tony Tojrang B. Marak, Publicity Secretary for CoMSO, in a press statement. “This fraudulent manipulation of public welfare schemes is a betrayal of the people’s trust and a misappropriation of public funds meant for genuine rural development,” he added.
Further, CoMSO cited the case of Charbatapara village where records showed the number of Job Card holders surged from 949 in the 2022–2023 financial year to a staggering 1,991 in 2024–2025, more than doubling within two years. CoMSO suggested such an “unnatural proliferation” indicates a “calculated propaganda to siphon off government resources through fake or duplicate registrations.”
The CoMSO has urged concerned authorities to immediately halt all financial disbursements under MGNREGS for the fiscal year 2024–2025 until a thorough verification is completed. The organization insists that only beneficiaries whose credentials are duly verified and authenticated should be eligible to receive pending wages.
The organization also demanded the relevant department to initiate an immediate audit and bring to justice all those involved in this alleged corruption. The organization stressed the importance of preserving the integrity of public welfare schemes through stringent monitoring and legal action against all perpetrators.
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