Sachin Tendulkar may have won the Bharat Ratna, but according to the Goa government's records, he is a "casual labourer" and a beneficiary of the MGNREGS. And so are his wife and two children, says an NGO.
Non-governmental organisation Goa Parivartan Manch Saturday claimed to have exposed a scam in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment GuaranteeS, where officials and politicians have been listing fictitious workers and pinching their remuneration.
"We demand a probe into the MGNREGs works in the Chimbel slum. It needs to be found out how these obviously fake names were registered as beneficiaries and who is making money on their behalf," NGO spokesperson Yathish Naik told a press conference in Panaji.
Chimbel is a slum on the outskirts of Panaji and Tendulkar finds himself an applicant against serial No. 374 of Tiswadi sub-district block.
The master cricketer's registration number is GO-01-001-028-001/10063-C.
Tendulkar's wife Anjali, daughter Sara and son Arjun are also listed in the documents unearthed by the NGO.
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Tendulkar is not the only celebrity to find himself listed as a beneficiary.
Other cricket icons like former India captains Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid keep him company in the list of casual workers.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting too ekes out a living by registering himself with the MGNERGS, a flagship programme of the central government aimed at providing guaranteed employment for at least 100 days a year.
Film stars Amitabh Bachchan and Paresh Rawal are also beneficiaries of the MGNREGS, according to the beneficiaries list.