‘Smart corruption’ row erupts as Congress questions MP’s National Water award

Congress accused the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government of what it called “smart corruption.” The party claimed that AI-generated images were used to win a national water conservation award for Khandwa district. The district administration rejected the allegation, saying the award was given after checking verified data and conducting physical inspections.

The controversy erupted after Khandwa district secured first place at the national level under the Centre’s Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari campaign and received a ₹ 2 crore award at the sixth National Water Awards ceremony held in New Delhi in November. Kaveshwar gram panchayat in the district also won second prize in the best gram panchayat category.

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Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari raised the allegation in a post on X (formerly Twitter), claiming that officials had uploaded AI-generated images to project development work falsely. “Where the BJP government should teach our children the proper use of AI, it is itself indulging in corruption using AI,” Patwari wrote.

He further alleged, “In Khandwa, officials of the BJP government, in the name of water conservation, used AI to turn two-foot pits into wells and uploaded AI-generated images of various development works across the region on the portal.”

Claiming that the award was granted based on these images, he added, “When the ground reality came to light, there were only fields and empty grounds there. It is clear that this was not water conservation, but a game of technology-generated images.In BJP rule, corruption has also become smart.”

District administration rejects claim

Following the allegations, the Khandwa district administration held a press conference to debunk the claims. District panchayat chief executive officer Nagarjun B Gowda said that AI-generated images had “no connection with the National Water Award process”, according to PTI.

He said “verified images after thorough scrutiny” of 1,29,046 water conservation works carried out under the Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari campaign were uploaded on the official JSJB portal. Gowda added that the Union Jal Shakti Ministry verified the material and conducted random field inspections of one per cent of the total works.

“Prima facie, false news about water conservation works carried out in Khandwa district is being spread by some social media accounts,” he said, as quoted by PTI.

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He added,“The district administration has found that 21 images generated through AI were uploaded on the Catch the Rain portal. This was possibly done with malicious intent. The district administration is taking action against those who uploaded these images.”

According to officials, more than 1.25 lakh water conservation works were carried out in Khandwa district under the Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari campaign- the highest number recorded in the country.