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Men dressed up in sarees to claim MNREGA funds in place of women
In Yadgir, male workers disguised as women to fraudulently claim NREGA wages, sparking outrage and administrative action after photos went viral.
A case of alleged wage fraud under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has emerged from Yadgir district, where male workers reportedly dressed as women to illegally claim wages meant for female labourers. The incident, which took place in Maldar village during a nala desilting project, has prompted administrative action and triggered public outrage.
The fraudulent activity came to light when photos of men wearing sarees, purportedly taken during the desilting work in Ningappa Pujari’s field in Mallara village, surfaced online and went viral. The total cost of the project was pegged at ₹3 lakh.
Zilla Panchayat chief executive officer Lavesh Oradiya confirmed the development and said that the number of actual male and female workers on-site did not match the official records. “According to NMR attendance photos of labourers, there should be 6 men and 4 women. In place of women, men were dressed in sarees and falsely claimed wages in the names of women who didn’t work,” he said.
The scam appears to have been orchestrated by Viresh, a Barefoot Technician (BFT) working on contract with the Panchayat Department. He has since been suspended. “Action had already been taken based on complaints received back in February,” the CEO said, adding that no wages had yet been disbursed under this particular NREGA project.
Further investigation revealed that attendance was manipulated using the National Mobile Monitoring Software (NMMS) app. Fake images were uploaded to the app, replacing genuine attendance records, to generate wage payments fraudulently under women’s names.
Responding to the controversy, Chennabasava, the Panchayat Development Officer of Malhar village, distanced himself from the scheme. “I have no role in this incident. A contract employee committed this fraud without my knowledge. As soon as the matter came to my attention, I suspended Veeresh, the employee involved in the fraud,” he said.
Local women labourers have expressed anger and disappointment over the incident, calling it a betrayal of their hard work and a misuse of a program intended to support rural employment.
Meanwhile, NREGA projects continue to be rolled out in other gram panchayats across the taluk to curb seasonal migration during summer. Taluk Panchayat Executive Officer Ramappa Doddmani visited one such desilting project at a lake in Majjoor Gram Panchayat and encouraged locals to make use of these work opportunities.
Highlighting the scheme’s role in supporting rural livelihoods, Doddmani noted that wages under NREGA had been revised from ₹349 to ₹370 for the financial year 2025–26, effective from April 1. He reminded workers to complete tasks as per measurements to receive full wages and reiterated that only those physically present at worksites should be marked present.
