Disbursement of relief amount meant for the farmers whose crops have been damaged due to unseasonal rain this year is getting delayed in Pithoragarh due to non-availability of bank cheques. On account of non-availability of the cheques, an amount of Rs45 lakh has not yet been disbursed among 1372 affected farmers in Pithoragarh’s Gangolihat tehsil, while, an amount of Rs12.91 lakh is yet to be disbursed among 1216 affected farmers in Pithoragarh’s Kanalichhina tehsil, the officials concerned said.
Similarly, out of an amount of Rs17.54 lakh to be disbursed among 1500 affected farmers in Pithoragarh’s Dewalthal tehsil, only Rs1.25 lakh has so far been disbursed, the reason being the same — non- availability of cheques, the officials added. More so, out of an amount of Rs44 lakh to be disbursed among 2625 farmers in Munsyari tehsil of Pithoragarh, only an amount of Rs25 lakh has so far been given.
Similarly, out of 3126 affected farmers in Pithoragarh’s Dharchula tehsil, 1128 have not received any relief from the Government so far. About 22,736 farmers have so far been identified as affected in Pithoragarh due to unseasonal rain as per the Rabi crop damage survey. An amount of about Rs4.17 crore has so far been released to Pithoragarh by the State Government to extend relief to the affected farmers. Out of that amount, Rs2.50 crore has already been released to different tehsils, said the Pithoragarh district administration officials. But only about Rs1.18 crore has so far been disbursed among the farmers in this district.
It may be recalled that earlier, the district administration, Pithoragarh, had directed the officials concerned to disburse the relief amount among the affected farmers in the district by May 10. But most of the farmers are yet to get the relief amount in that district. Farmers are in distress as sowing season of Kharif crop has set in.
District magistrate, Pithoragarh, Shushil Kumar said that with bank cheques being available now, the officials concerned should have the amount disbursed among the affected farmers at the earliest, if possible, in a week. He also warned of action if things get delayed because of the apathy of the officials concerned.