Deepender Deswal
Hisar, March 19
Even as Agriculture Minister Jai Prakash Dalal called for action against officials for laxity in implementation of the Bhavantar Bharpai Yojna (BBY) to bajra-producing farmers after detection of several irregularities, the benefits have been released to the beneficiaries in some districts.
Agriculture department sources revealed that Dalal had taken a serious note of the misuse of the funds under BBY at a meeting held in January. The minister said some officials had not conducted appropriate monitoring of the verification process for selecting the beneficiaries.
“The data of ineligible persons have been verified as per the details available on Meri Fasal Mera Byora (MFMB) portal. The area registered under bajra crop on MFMB was more than the total agriculture area in some villages where land consolidation has not done,” he said in a note.
The minister also sought the details of ineligible farmers who were given the amount under BBY in previous years and also asked the names of the officials who were responsible for laxity. “Provide me the details of the officials and also show the reason if no action was taken for laxity,” he said.
The minister also announced to withhold the release of the benefit to the farmers under BBY, in Bhiwani on January 12. He said some common service centre (CSC) owners, and technology-savvy persons were indulging in fraud.
The sources revealed that the government had released the benefit under BBY to farmers in some districts in a hurry. In Bhiwani, 10 FIRs had been registered at various police stations for fraudulently claiming benefits worth lakhs of rupees under BBY. Investigation has been going on in the scam in Bhiwani district.
In Hisar, too, the district administration had detected 2,300 ineligible farmers who registered themselves as bajra-growing farmers on the MFMB portal on thousands of acres in an attempt to get benefit under BBY. But the Hisar administration had withheld the release of benefits to those farmers.
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