Kisan Yojna Scam: 18 arrested, 80 officials dismissed

Under the PM-Kisan Scheme small farmers with two hectare or less land are given Rs 6,000 per year as assistance.

It was recently found that in some Tamil Nadu districts ineligible persons have availed the cash assistance with false information. The scam was initially unearthed in Cuddalore district from where as many as 80,752 were added in the beneficiaries list from the month of April. However, the investigation by the district administration found that except for 3500, all others were fake entries. Much to the shock of the investigating officials more than 40,000 persons from the other districts were also in the list. Subsequently, the inquiry was later handed over to the CB-CID police on September 1.

Meanwhile, the opposition leader and DMK President MK Stalin also alleged the scam runs into several crore of rupees, further said in Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami's home district Salem alone about 10,700 fake farmers have taken about Rs 4 crore under the scheme and their bank accounts have been freezed.

Answering the allegations CM Palaniswami promised that action is being taken against those who are involved in irregularities in the PM-Kisan scheme. Accordingly, around 80 officials were found guilty, in the initial inquiry and were dismissed from service.

Addressing the media in the regard, Agricultural Production Commissioner and Principal Secretary to Government, Gagandeep Singh Bedi IAS said that under PMKSY scheme, Rs. 6,000 is being disbursed in 3 installments.  While only one member of the family can benefit from the scheme, those who do own an agricultural land cannot avail the scheme.

Explaining the process of registration, Bedi said that the farmers can register their names directly in the portal, while the Tamil Nadu Revenue and Agriculture Department officials will be approving the entries after thorough scrutiny. He said that the official password used by the authorities for approval has been stolen by some miscreants. Further some intermediaries and private computer centers were also allegedly involved in the scam.

Bedi further added that around 10 enquiry committees have been engaged and 18 people have been arrested so far. As many as 80 people have been found guilty and have been dismissed while 34 others await disciplinary actions.

Officials said that the bank accounts of those who were held guilty are frozen and around 32 crore rupees have been withdrawn from their bank accounts.

Bedi said that as much as 110 crore rupees have been swindled under the scam.

Reports reveal that so far, the scam was unearthed from 13 districts, including Kallakurichi, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Thiruvannamalai, Vellore, Ranipettai, Salem, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri.