Mail News Service
Saraikela, Nov 6: The government introduced several ambitious projects to bolster the economic horizons of the weaker segments of society especially on the rural scenario and one among them is Kisan Samman Yojna aimed at aiding farmers financially for better crop cultivation and enhanced income.
But those in local authority have been known to create ungainly openings and reap the harvests of government projects that are otherwise envisaged for the poor. A case in point is that of the Kandra Panchayat where most of the applicants for the Kisan Samman Yojna are people who are not even distantly related to farming but are panchayat committee members, businessmen and traders and men with tremendous influence. Among the applicants is the Mukhiya himself whose wealth and property makes his application for the loan a farce and laughing stock. Many of the applicants have been pulling strings at the right places to get their applications through. Applicants close to Panchayat Samiti members feature in the list.
However, the applications are screened and the list of beneficiaries is trimmed down after proper investigation and verification of documents. All applicants in the Kandra Panchayat who had applied for the Kisan Samman Yojna were summoned to the Panchayat office and interviewed and their documents reviewed. Ultimately only two farmers were recommended for the loans under the scheme.
Had it been in earlier times, the farmers and the economically weak villagers would have been deprived of the benefits of schemes made for their uplift and te honey would have been suckled up by the high and mighty of the panchayats. But with computer generated data, such chances have been pruned down to negligible and the target group gets its dues.