Officials of the Minor Irrigation department minted money by handing out petty amounts to farmers for installing tube wells and later coerced them to sign on recovery paper of the entire subsidy amount sanctioned by the government. All these murky dealings surfaced after a querry was submitted under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
After finding the charges to be prima facie true, State Information Commissioner, Hafiz Usman has now directed Principal Secretary (Irrigation) to probe the scam threadbare and initiate criminal proceedings against all the officials who duped the innocent farmers.
Detailing the matter, the SIC said that state government is carrying out a special scheme to provide relief to drought-affected farmers. It envisaged helping farmers to get tubewells installed in fields and also give facilities of boring, pump house, drainage to channel water to the fields etc.
The government provides half the total amount incurred on the work upto a maximum of Rs 85,000. Besides, the government also provides upto Rs 68,000 as subsidy for bringing power line upto the pump house.
Meanwhile, a farmer of Sambhal who got a tube well installed at his village under the said scheme in 2011-12, got only Rs 35,688 instead of the sanctioned subsidy of Rs 85,000. When he filed a RTI querry, he was shocked to learn that the entire amount had already been paid. He again filed an RTI seeking details about the beneficiary of the remaining Rs 49,312. Interestingly, this time the officials of Minor Irrigation department 'conveniently forgot'to file a reply despite several reminders.
The distraught farmer later filed an appeal in the court of SIC to get the matter probed thoroughly. The probe threw up the brazen fact that it was common practice in the Minor Irrigation department to give half the sanctioned amount and coerce the farmers to signb up for the entire amount. Through the nefarious plan, a large amount of government funds was siphoned off by the officials thereby defeating the objective of the government effort to facilitate farmers in fighting the vagaries of natrure. The SIC has now ordered Principal Secretary (Irrigation) to probe the irregularities in implementing the scheme across the state and initiate legal proceedings against the erraing officials.