Maharashtra’s ₹22 Cr Gopinath Munde Welfare Scam Exposed.

Maharashtra’s Multi-Crore Sugar Worker Scam

• ED-Linked Firm in Crosshairs

• Duplicate Data, Massive Scam: Maharashtra’s ₹22 Cr Welfare Fraud

• ID Card Redo: Maharashtra’s ₹22 Cr Sugar Cane Worker Scam Exposed

A Sprouts News Investigation exposes a potential ₹22 crore scam in the Gopinath Munde welfare board, where a firm under ED probe was awarded a contract for work already completed. CM Fadnavis urged to act.

A major financial irregularity, potentially amounting to a ₹22 crore scam, has been alleged within Maharashtra’s Gopinath Munde Sugar Cane Cutters Welfare Board. The accusation, detailed in a formal complaint to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, centers on the re-allocation of a completed digitization project to a private firm under enforcement scrutiny. The Sprouts News Investigation Team (SIT) has reviewed documents suggesting public funds were earmarked for redundant work already handled by government machinery. This move allegedly bypasses previous directives and ignores existing digital infrastructure.

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Allegations of Duplicate Payment for Pre-Existing Data

In 2019, the Maharashtra government established the board to oversee welfare schemes for the state’s sugar cane cutters. By 2021, a comprehensive drive was completed to register all estimated 1.25 million workers and provide them with official identification cards. Government records confirm this data was collected by Gram Sevaks using standardized forms and is fully digitized, complete with computerized registration numbers. The information is also regularly updated and reflected on the state’s ‘MahaSuvidha’ portal, making the entire database publicly verifiable and readily available.

Questionable Tender Award to Smart Services Pvt. Ltd.

Despite this pre-existing, functional database, the Department of Social Justice allegedly approved a new contract on June 6, 2025. The contract, worth ₹21.98 crore, was awarded to Pune-based Smart Services Pvt. Ltd. for the identical task: surveying, registering, and issuing ID cards to 1.25 million sugar cane workers. The per-card cost was set at an inexplicable ₹175.84. The Sprouts News Investigation Team notes that this decision directly contradicts the government’s own digital transparency initiatives and represents a clear case of potential fund misallocation for redundant work.

ED Probe and Historical Warnings Ignored

Investigations reveal that Smart Services Pvt. Ltd. was formerly known as Brisk India, a company already under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for its financial dealings. The complaint to the CM highlights a serious breach of protocol, noting that Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis himself had previously issued orders barring Brisk India from participating in any state tender processes. The current award of this contract, therefore, suggests officials may have deliberately overlooked explicit governmental warnings and compliance mandates, raising questions of integrity within the administration.

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Formal Demands for Criminal and Administrative Action

The whistleblower’s letter to the Chief Minister outlines three critical demands for immediate action. First, it calls for the registration of criminal charges against the officials involved and the company itself. Second, it demands that if any payment has already been disbursed to the firm, it must be recovered immediately. Finally, it insists on a high-level independent inquiry into the entire tender process to ascertain the depth of the alleged scam and identify all responsible parties. The situation presents a significant test of the state government’s commitment to transparency and accountability in its welfare schemes.