When asked as to why the work has not started at Ghodiyala, Jagawat said, “We did not get the advance fund. We have got technical sanction for the check dams.”

The district authorities, meanwhile, said they do not give work based on reputation and that “every NGO has to follow the tender process”. Vadodara District Collector Vijay Nehra said, “Funds have not been released to Sadguru yet. We have categorically asked them to first show their work and then claim the funds.”

N M Patel from Irrigation Department said that though Rs 1 core have been deposited in the account of District Development Officer, “we have not released funds for Sadguru foundation, even as they forced us to”.

He said the funds have been withheld as several inquiries about the NGO are pending, like as to why the NGO was given the project without issuing tenders.

Asked why the funds approved on the recommendations of the Cowlagi Committee lapsed in 2006-07, Nehra said, “The taluka could get funds only in February 2007 and the district authorities could not distribute all the funds in one month before the completion of the financial year.”

Like Kwant, the report had also suggested a telemedicine project at Pavi Jetpur. But the only medical officer at the local Community Health Centre, Dr Hiren Shah was unaware about the project.