Seeds of chili are reddening eyes of most of the people with price as whopping as Rs 32,000 per Kilogram!

In latehar’s Garu block, 318 farmers belonging to 70 self help groups have been given 46.4 kg of seeds of green chili at the cost of Rs 32,000 for a kilo.

Sachin Sahu, District Programme Manager (DPM), of latehar confirming the price said that this was to be distributed among 318 farmers of 70 self help groups under horticulture mission. When queried about the price,  he also expressed his surprise for the approved rate set by National Seeds Centre.

Sources said the high priced green chili seeds smack of many other interests as who will vouch that 46.4 Kgs of it was really bought from vendor of National Seeds Centre.  Sources said unscrupulous deals have occurred in sale purchase of seeds of paddy, fertilizers etc and so its purchase too comes under scanner.

DPM Sahu further conceded that that the seeds of green chili are yet to be distributed among the farmers.

The horticulture wing of latehar agriculture office has issued account payee cheque worth more than Rs 14 lakh towards this 46.4 kg of green chili seeds.

However green chili growing farmers have approached SBI branch of Garu where the cheques have been deposited for clearance but failed. Sahu confirmed this saying a farmer Jai Prakash has given in writing to the Garu branch of SBI not to clear this cheque and hence its deposit withdrawal are on hold. DPM said efforts are on to get the payment released.

When asked as to why the green chili growing farmer or farmers are so up in arms against the crediting of this cheque Sahu said there seems to be some vested interests.

 He however did not elaborate on this. When apprised of this stalemate over SBI’s account payee cheque DDC Anil K Singh said the matter would be brought to the notice of DC Rajiv Kumar of latehar.

Anil Kumar Singh, when asked about the exorbitant prices, said, “This is a big news for me also.

The DPM who had come to know of this price earlier ought to have taken mainstream administration of latehar into confidence but the problem is that officials of livelihood mission/ programme just feel themselves a class apart from the main bulk of the administration and not let us know many things that they undertake.” 

Sources said officials of livelihood mission programme just go their own way without bothering for DRDA which has a long history of carrying out schemes and prgrammes aiming at either minimizing poverty or alleviating of augmenting income for livelihood.