Bhubaneswar: To woo the farmers ahead of elections, the State government has launched its ambitious scheme Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA). However, one after another trouble mounts on the government for proper execution of the scheme.
Due to unavailability of sufficient funds for the scheme, the BJD government has diverted its Contingency Fund and drew criticism. Now, the allotted full amount Rs 5,000 is not reaching beneficiary farmers as banks are deducting pending loans and interest against the concerned farmer. This issue has become a headache for the government now.
Debendra Sahu, a farmer of Jamusuli village in Balasore district faced a similar issue. Soon after he received Rs 5,000 in his bank account in local UCO bank branch, the bank authority took away the entire amount for repayment of an existing loan.
Dhenkanal’s farmer Sarbeswar Bramha has been victim of this. The bank has automatically deducted the deposited amount from his bank account. Farmers from others districts are also facing similar kind of problem. This has led to the farmers question the benefits of the KALIA scheme.
Meanwhile, the farmers from the Balasore district, gheraoed the Rasalpur panchayat office alleging irregularities in distribution of cash benefits under KALIA scheme. The agitated farmers even detained the nodal officer inside his office. They alleged that two to three persons from a single family are receiving benefits while eligible beneficiaries are being left out.
Reacting on the issue, Agriculture Secretary Sourabh Garg said, “Recently we had a meeting with the bankers and discussed about the issue. The bankers have agreed to cooperate with us.”
The money transferred to the eligible beneficiaries under KALIA scheme will not be deducted as charges or installment from their bank accounts, Garg said.
PNN