BONGAIGAON, May 12 - A large number of genuine farmers in Bongaigaon district have been deprived of the benefits under Prime Minister Kishan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISHAN) scheme as a section of close relatives of gaon panchayat/zila parishad members and political leaders allegedly took the benefits of the scheme.
The scheme provides Rs 6,000 to a farmer in three instalments in a year to meet small agri expenses. �We cannot say who had prepared the list of beneficiaries (farmers) of the scheme and on what basis, names of unknown persons were included in the list,� said Makhan Ghosh, president of Dhaligaon Gaon Panchayat in Bongaigaon district. �We are going to submit a letter to the Deputy Commissioner, seeking proper probe into the anomalies as we have received complaints from the people from our panchayat area,� Ghosh said.
In another complaint to the Deputy Commissioner from the Dhaligaon Kheti Pothar Porichalona Samiti, it has been alleged that Zila Parishad member Ranju Singha and Dhaligaon panchayat member Parboti Ray had enlisted the names of their family members as beneficiaries of the scheme. So, the farmers� group demanded a probe into the scam and punishment to those who are involved in it.
�Of the 71 beneficiaries in the Dhaligaon panchayat area, 75 per cent are fake farmers,� claimed Samiti�s secretary Gokul Medhi. Last year in February, the government had instructed the officers concerned to submit the names of farmers within a short time. Using political power, party leaders and panchayat members had included the names of their relatives and party supporters in the lists of beneficiaries, instead of genuine farmers and for which the officials of the Agriculture department have to suffer, Medhi added.
