The district administration has begun an inquiry after some farmers complained that they were yet to receive crop loss compensation that was due to them in July this year.
A group of farmers had filed a complained with the zilla panchayat chief executive officer and in-charge Deputy Commissioner Pavan Kumar Malpati, stating that around 11,000 farmers in Bhalki taluk were yet to receive Rs. 3.58 crore as compensation that was released by the State government three months ago.
Bhalki tahsildar Manohar Swamy had issued a cheque of Rs. 3,58 crores to be distributed among 11,000 farmers to the branch of a private bank at Bhalki on July 18, 2016. A list of 11,000 bank accounts of farmers was also sent to the bank. This was revealed in a reply to a RTI query by activist S. Sangashetty. But as on October 22, the money had not been deposited to the farmers’ accounts.
“The three month delay is baffling because the district administration has been claiming that all eligible farmers have got relief,” said Mr. Sangashetty.
It is unfortunate, says Vishwanath Patil Koutha, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha leader. “Over 60 farmers have committed suicide due to crop loss in the last three years. If the government cannot figure out ways to distribute relief immediately, more farmers will die,” he said.
“Farmers in various villages in Bhalki have been waiting for the crop loss relief for months, while reading statements from the district in-charge minister Eshwar Khandre and deputy commissioner Anurag Tewari that over Rs. 230 crore of compensation was distributed among farmers in one year. And then we come to know that the money was released by the State government, but has not reached farmers,” Mr. Koutha said.
Mr. Malpati said farmers would get the money in a few days. “We will inquire into the whole thing and see if the delay is due to technical issue or a human error. We will also check if the tahsildar transferred the money to his personal account and then transferred it later, indulging inappropriate usage or diversion. Also the issue of involving a private bank will be looked into as all government transactions take place through public sector banks,” he said.
