MP: Congress claims national water award won with AI-images; administration rejects charge
Indore/Khandwa (PTI): The Congress has accused the Madhya Pradesh government of corruption, claiming that the Khandwa district administration won a national water conservation award using AI-generated images, a claim dismissed by authorities.
Khandwa district secured first place nationwide for outstanding work in water conservation under the Centre's 'Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari' campaign. It received a Rs 2 crore award at the sixth National Water Awards ceremony held in New Delhi in November, officials said on Monday.
They said the Kaveshwar panchayat in Khandwa district also won the second prize in the best gram panchayat category at the ceremony.
MP Congress president Jitu Patwari, in a post on X, alleged, "Where the BJP government should teach our children the proper use of AI, it is itself indulging in corruption using AI. In Khandwa, officials of the BJP government turned two-foot-deep pits into wells using AI, and uploaded AI-generated images of various development works across the area on the portal."
Based on these images, they even took an award from the Honourable President, he alleged.
"When the ground reality came to light, fields and empty grounds were found there. Clearly, this was not water conservation, but a game of technology-created images. Under the BJP rule, corruption has also become smart," he added.
As the controversy over the allegations linked to the National Water Award escalated, the Khandwa administration held a press conference to clarify its position.
District Panchayat Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nagarjun B Gowda said that uploading AI-generated images had no connection whatsoever with the National Water Award.
He said "verified images after thorough scrutiny" of 1,29,046 works carried out under the 'Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari' campaign were uploaded on the campaign's JSJB portal.
Gowda said the Union Jal Shakti Ministry verified all these images 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 added.
He said photographs related to water conservation are uploaded on another portal named 'Catch the Rain' only for educational and motivational purposes.
"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," the CEO added.
"The Catch the Rain portal is completely different from the Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari campaign portal. Awards under the Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari campaign are not considered based on images uploaded on the Catch the Rain portal," Gowda added.
More than 1.25 lakh water conservation works were carried out in Khandwa district under the 'Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari' campaign, the highest in the country, he added.
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Gig workers call nationwide ‘App Bandh’ on Dec 31, delivery services in Bengaluru likely to be hit
Bengaluru: Delivery services across Bengaluru are expected to face disruption on December 31 as gig workers’ unions have called for a nationwide strike, raising concerns for restaurants and customers ahead of New Year’s Eve.
The protest, described as an ‘App Bandh’, has been called by several national unions including the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) and the Gig and Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU). Union leaders say the strike could see wider participation than a similar call on December 25, which affected parts of Delhi and Gurugram but had little impact on Bengaluru.
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Clarifying that participation is voluntary, IFAT national president Prashant Sawardekar said, “Many workers want to protest, but there is fear of being penalised or blacklisted by platforms. Despite this, the response has been growing.” The union has around seven lakh members across India, with about 35,000 based in Bengaluru. he said.
At the heart of the protest are long-standing demands for regulation of platform companies under labour laws, an end to arbitrary penalties and ID blocking, transparent wage structures, improved social security, and protection of workers’ right to organise. A key demand is a ban on the 10-minute delivery model, which unions argue pushes workers into unsafe conditions. The Karnataka App-based Workers Union has also written to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya seeking intervention.
Delivery workers noted penalties imposed by aggregator platforms have become a major source of distress, as reported by Deccan Herald. Salauddin, a 49-year-old delivery executive planning to join the strike, said delays beyond their control often lead to fines. “If a restaurant is late or a customer is unresponsive, we still get penalised. There is no accountability on others, only on us,” he said.
Others point to safety concerns, particularly on New Year’s Eve. “The streets are chaotic that night. It’s not worth risking your life for work where neither the company nor customers respect you,” said Sandeep K, a 39-year-old food delivery and porter agent, urging more workers to participate.
Unions have also appealed to home service workers and cab drivers to join the protest, though city-based unions indicated that cab and auto services are unlikely to be affected.
Restaurants and smaller establishments said they may rely on phone orders and in-house staff for deliveries, while larger chains fear significant disruption. With around 35 multiple food brands outlets in the city, Nikhil Gupta, told DH setting up an alternative delivery system at short notice was not feasible. “We are still waiting for payments from aggregator platforms and are hoping services continue. Otherwise, our operations will take a serious hit,” he said.
