Sanjay Sahni
Founder, MNREGA Watch
15 years ago, while teaching himself how to use the internet, Sanjay Sahni accidentally uncovered large-scale corruption in his village in Bihar. He hasn't stopped cleaning up the system since.
Sanjay Sahni
's story
In 2011, while working as an electrician in Delhi, Sanjay went online to learn how to use the internet. He googled his village and found records claiming hundreds had received wages from a government jobs programme. He called to check – not one person had got the money. He printed the evidence, went home to Muzaffarpur, and walked into the district office.
The work that
Sanjay Sahni
puts in
That was just the beginning. Over the last decade and a half, Sanjay has used public data to expose corruption, organise the community around it, and pressure local authorities until they deliver government services and benefits the community is owed. What started with recovering stolen wages has now expanded into securing rights for healthcare and education.
Veeraa Impact Measurement
Apr - Jun 2026
•
Community Phone Survey
•
Updated quarterly
top impact areas
Unlocked government wages for workers (88%)
Unlocked other government benefits (12%)
Workers
Workers
report positive
impact on their lives
Note: Sanjay reports an estimated community size of 6000. He shared contact details of 415 members with Veeraa in time for the survey. We will update this number after the next quarterly survey.
Impact of the work
Sanjay estimates his work, through the MNREGA Watch (MW) movement that he leads, over 15 years has helped 16,000 people unlock government benefits, including access to schooling, and healthcare. Most recently: 6,000 workers won back employment after a new law left them without work overnight, 250 children of migrant workers returned to school, and 4 migrant workers diagnosed with cancer received treatment.
His impressive work was recently studied by Harvard-trained economists, Dr M R Sharan and Dr Niharika Singh. Using official government data, they documented the impact of MW's expansion into 62 new Panchayats and compared it to a similar number of neighbouring Panchayats where no work had started. They found that between 2023 to 2025, MW led to 10 lakh more workdays and ₹24 crore more wages in the Panchayats they worked in compared to those they didn't. This is transformative impact and irrefutable evidence of Sanjay's organising capabilities and his smart use of public data and laws.
What your funds will unlock
Sanjay currently works across 8 blocks of Muzaffarpur. Your support will help him double his reach over time across all 16 blocks of the district. He also wants to expand his work on children’s education and health access for migrant workers.
Sanjay ensures the local government actually works for those it is meant to serve. Will you back him to scale his impact?
Review of capabilities
Voices from the movement
Testimonials from the workers that work alongside our leaders
Pinki Devi
Team Member
"Itna bada risk lekar koi kaam nahi karna chahta . Har ek vyakti ko rojgaar mile, yahi unka lakshya hai….Ham sabhi milkar roji-rozgaar ke haq ke liye ladte rehte hain. Voh hamesha saath khade rehte hain."
Mandeshwari Devi
Team Member
“DM office ke paas MNREGA ke niymon mein badlaav aur kaam ko lekar protest jaari hai. Yeh ladaai Sanjay ji ki wajah se mumkin hui."
Vouched for by —
Independent references who have experienced a leader's work first hand.
"His work grew from a single problem to working on a wider set of issues for mazdoors across surrounding villages and blocks. Watching his work grow has been remarkable.
His lived experiences of precarity as a migrant worker, and the threats and harassment that he has faced as he raises public issues has drawn people to him."
