AI for Corruption? IAS Officers Land in Trouble After Allegations of Submitting AI-Generated Photographs to Secure National Water Award

Key Points:

In an era where Artificial Intelligence is being incorporated for innovation, development, and the betterment of the future, its usage has taken a troubling turn toward corruption.

On December 29, 2025, the Congress accused the Madhya Pradesh government of misusing the power of Artificial Intelligence to secure a highly prestigious presidential award, raising concerns about the impending threat of AI-driven corruption. However, the allegations were later denied by Khandwa district officials, who issued a clarification.

The prestigious honour of winning the 6th National Water Award for constructing and conserving water structures was bestowed upon the Khandwa district in Madhya Pradesh. The award was announced by the Union Government of India on November 11, 2025.

However, two Indian Administrative Service officers—Khandwa District Collector Rishav Gupta and Panchayat CEO Dr. Nagarjun B. Gowda came under controversy over allegations of fraud.

The alleged AI image scam was unearthed during a Dainik Bhaskar investigation, which indicated that the duo had submitted information about bogus water structures along with AI-generated photographs in order to bag the water award, which carries a whopping cash reward of ₹2 crore for the recipient.

See Also: Centre Issues Notice to X Over AI-Generated Obscene Content, Seeks Compliance Report

Gupta and Gowda received the accolade at the hands of President Droupadi Murmu on November 18, 2025. However, questions were later raised about whether the honour had been awarded to the right candidates.

A report by Dainik Bhaskar showed that the images submitted by the IAS officers carried a watermark indicating that they were AI-generated, visible in the bottom-right corner. The eligibility criteria for the award required participants to submit a collection of dossiers ranging from statistical data to photographic evidence of the developmental projects carried out by them.

The Congress responded to the image scam by taking a dig at the ruling party and its use of AI in contemporary times. Madhya Pradesh Congress President Jitu Patwari wrote, “where the BJP government should be teaching our children the proper use of AI, it is instead using AI itself for corruption.”

He further accused the BJP government of using AI to transform “two-foot pits into wells” by uploading AI-generated images on the portal. “Based on these very images, they even received an award from the Honorable President,” Patwari said.

The charges raised by the opposition, along with the investigation by Dainik Bhaskar, further fuelled the allegations, which later prompted a clarification from the award recipients.

The Dainik Bhaskar report claimed that there were around 150 duck wells near village wells, a claim that resembled a fictional story. According to the report, many of the development pointers proposed by the duo in their submission were merely tales printed on paper.

In Shahpura Mal Gram Panchayat, which was credited as a major reason for Khandwa district’s victory, a pond was reported to exist. However, the investigation revealed that the land where the supposed pond was claimed to be located was actually being used to grow wheat.

See Also: “The Risks Are No Longer Hypothetical”: AI Pioneer Yoshua Bengio Warns of its Growing Threats, Calls for Urgent Safeguards

As more and more allegations were raised questioning the authenticity of the district’s win, the Khandwa district administration held a press conference, terming the claims bogus and baseless. Gowda stated that AI-generated images played no part in Khandwa’s win in the National Water Award process.

Speaking to ThePrint, Gowda said that the source from which several media outlets obtained the images was meant for informational purposes only. He added, “The media picked up the images from the ‘Catch the Rain’ portal, which is meant solely for information, education, and communication (IEC) purposes.”

The documents they submitted could only be accessed by the district collector. He said, “The ‘Catch the Rain’ portal has many images used for representational purposes, but those were picked up and this claim was made.”

Gowda added that the award was not given solely on the basis of the images submitted by them. The district administration stated that Khandwa’s victory was nothing less than a historic milestone, as, according to officials, more than 1.25 lakh water conservation works were carried out in the district, the highest number recorded in the country.

[VS]

Suggested Reading: