As the Rythu Bandhu scheme for distribution of Pattadaar passbooks and cheques under the farmers investment support is gaining momentum, officials are faced with complaints of “mismatch” in the data recorded in the passbooks.
While there are reports about the mistakes in the entries made in the passbooks relating to the beneficiary details, several instances of mismatch in the photograph printing on the passbooks and the actual photographs of the beneficiaries have also come to the notice of the officials concerned. The government had received reports that there are errors in around 3 lakh passbooks out of around 20 lakh distributed across the State so far.
Grievance cells
The magnitude of errors can be seen from the fact that the Revenue Department had ordered reprinting of 1.05 lakh passbooks on Monday. This is in addition to the grievances reported at the grievance cells set up at different locations enabling the beneficiaries report discrepancies/errors if any.
Senior Revenue officials said the department had decided to withhold the passbooks wherever errors are observed and they would be reissued after rectification of the mismatches.
The rectified pattadaar passbooks can be collected from the respective tahsildars or district-level offices once the ongoing distribution of passbooks and cheques is completed tentatively on May 18.
Officials said while there was no time frame for collection of passbooks, farmers would be sensitised to furnish relevant data to the officials concerned for collecting cheques at specified locations where they would be kept under tight security.
Three-month validity
The cheques under the Rythu Bandhu scheme are valid only for three months and all such cheques which have not been issued to farmers before their expiry date would reach the Agriculture Commissioner’s office here. The leftover amount is likely to be remitted into the account of the apex corporation constituted to govern the activities of the farmers coordination committees.
“Some lapses are bound to happen during the implementation of a scheme of this magnitude and we will rectify these errors and re-issue the passbooks to all the beneficiaries,” a senior official said adding that the government had accordingly made provisions giving the required flexibility so that all the beneficiaries received their due.
