Indian city probes bills for roads that were never built, backed by AI-generated photos

The case centers on Ward No. 11, the largest ward of the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, where the city had ordered internal roads, paver-block surfacing, sheds and chain-link fences at fixed unit rates. To get paid, a contractor has to submit photos of the finished work and a certificate from a third-party project management consultant (PMC) hired by the corporation. An inquiry ordered by the municipal commissioner found that the roads and sheds shown in those files had not been built, the paper reported.

Investigators say the photos were made with artificial intelligence, not taken on site. When contacted, the PMC said it had not issued the certificates attached to the bills, and investigators allege those were also produced with AI. According to the report, the main contractor, Samir Construction Agency, had subcontracted about ₹70 to 80 lakh of work (₹7 million to ₹8 million, under $100,000) to a former outsourced worker in the city's engineering department.

The commissioner has moved engineers out of their posts across the department while the inquiry runs, and the additional city engineer who headed the department has been named in connection with the case, the paper said. The transfers are an interim step, and disciplinary or other action may follow. Investigators still have to establish who made and filed the documents and whether the city released any money for the work.