Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday ordered an inquiry into the allegations of irregularities in implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme.
Sonowal has also directed the deputy commissioners to stop further release of payments under the scheme till the preparation of the correct beneficiary list with authenticated bank accounts after deletion of doubtful entries.
A statement from the chief minister’s office said additional chief secretary Jishnu Barua has been entrusted with the inquiry into the preparation of the alleged “faulty” beneficiary list and submit his report within a month. “The deputy commissioners of all districts have been directed to verify the genuineness of beneficiary lists, correctness of eligibility of beneficiaries, authentication of bank account details and check duplicity in data entry. The deputy commissioners have been instructed to validate the village-wise beneficiary list through circle officers, lot mandals and gaonburhas (village heads),” it said.
Under the scheme, a farmer is given Rs 6,000 a year in three instalments. One instalment was given during the lockdown. There have been reports about alleged irregularities in preparing the list of beneficiaries.
Assam agriculture minister Atul Bora had admitted that some of the allegations were “not wrong.”
In a video conference in the evening, Sonowal instructed the deputy commissioners to look into the allegations. He interacted with block development officers and reviewed the progress of various schemes being implemented at the village level. He stressed on the need to focus on providing job opportunities to migrant workers from Assam who have returned the state recently.
The Opposition Congress had recently written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding a CBI probe into the alleged corruption in implementation of the scheme. A farmers’ organisation, Krishak Sramik Unnayan Parishad, had lodged a complaint with CID.
Sonowal had earlier said that no one would be spared if found guilty in these alleged anomalies.
