With reports of another pesticide scam coming in from Doaba region, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday ordered an enquiry by the State Director General of Police (DGP), Vigilance, to probe the matter.
“Badal has asked the DGP (Vigilance) to conduct an enquiry into the matter and submit its report along with action taken report to him within a month,” said a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office.
He said that Badal has reiterated his commitment that the Government would put up with zero tolerance in such cases and anyone found guilty in these heinous or immoral acts, would be given exemplary punishment as per the law of the land.
There were reports that farmers have allegedly been duped of lakhs of rupees by employees of the block agriculture office at Phillaur in Jalandhar district. It has been alleged that the employees not only sold pesticides to the farmers that don’t fall in the list of State agriculture department to be sold at subsidised rates, but also allegedly sold locally manufactured spurious chemicals in the name of pesticides.
The scam was brought into light in early August when a farmer, Pritpal Singh of Palno village, bought the chemical on the advice of block agriculture officer. While spraying the chemical, he realised it was of substandard quality.
He called up the district agriculture office in Jalandhar and was told by the agriculture officer there that the pesticide was not being supplied. Thereafter, the farmer informed Bharti Kisan Union (lakhowal) leaders, who raised the matter with the State agriculture director in Chandigarh. A team led by the Agriculture Joint Director Balwinder Singh Sohal on August 11 raided the office of Block Agriculture Officer in Phillaur, and preliminary report revealed some unethical practices in the office.