CM announces enquiry into Agriculture Dept
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By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Mar 12: Chief Minister Y Khemchand has announced that a departmental enquiry will be instituted to probe irregularities committed by Agriculture Department in the process of disbursing benefits of different schemes to beneficiaries.
While discussing a demand for grant pertaining to Agriculture in the State Assembly today, MLA K Meghachandra raised a cut motion and said that benefits of several Central schemes are not delivered properly to farmers.
The Agriculture Department is highly corrupt and a big scam has been unveiled, he said.
An individual has been found receiving the benefits of Pradhan Mantri Kishan Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) repeatedly by simply changing the name of the district, Meghachandra said.
He said that Rs 129.49 crore was sanctioned for the State under PMKSY.
A big scam has marred the Prime Minister’s flagship scheme and this is extremely disappointing for all farmers of the State, he said.
Being highly educated, the nodal officer and the staff tasked with implementing the scheme are quite adept in looting public money, Meghachandra said.
Following RTI reports about presence of more than one member of a family in the list of beneficiaries, officials went for a field verification but they were met with gunshots, he said.
Agriculture Department furnished a list of over five lakh farmers for the PM-Kisan scheme and over two lakh people received benefits of the scheme.
With the objective of getting the scheme’s benefits, the Agriculture Department submitted fabricated documents claiming that all the applicants have at least one or two pari of agricultural land. This has prompted the Centre to reduce the quantity of rice allocated to the State’s CAF&PD Department, Meghachandra said.
He also asked if the Government has initiated any process to pay compensation to the farmers who could not till their fields on account of the violent crisis.
Responding to the cut motion, Chief Minister Y Khemchand said it would be highly appreciated if evidence of wrongdoings reach him during the ongoing Assembly session.
As it is known that there are certain irregularities in the Agriculture Department, a departmental enquiry will be conducted, he said.
The claim that there are over five lakh farmers in Manipur is too much, he remarked.
A list of 5808 farmers was submitted in 2023-24 when the violent crisis was at its peak. After verification by the Home Department, an amount of Rs 34.13 crore was released for the farmers who could not till their fields.
It was rather surprising that a list of 10,286 affected farmers was submitted in 2024-25 when the violence had subsided to some extent.
Nonetheless, the Government will look into the case of genuinely affected farmers who have not received compensation from the Government, the Chief Minister told the House.
While discussing the demand for grant regarding Education, MLA Th Lokeshwar suggested implementing a proper transfer policy of teachers. He also raised the issue of Naorem Birahari College.
Responding to the Congress MLA, Khemchand said that the shortage of Government teachers stands at around 47 per cent.
Saying that the Government has been working to recruit the required number of teachers, the Chief Minister assured that he will instruct relevant authorities to look into the issues of Naorem Birahari College.
To a query raised by Th Lokeshwar on the Panchayat elections, the Chief Minister said that the State Government is unable to hold the local body elections on account of the law and order situation, and the financial crisis.
“During my recent trip to New Delhi, I sought an amount of Rs 646 crore from the Centre for urban local bodies. So far, Rs 25.60 crore has been sanctioned “, Khemchand added.
IMPHAL, Mar 12: Chief Minister Y Khemchand has announced that a departmental enquiry will be instituted to probe irregularities committed by Agriculture Department in the process of disbursing benefits of different schemes to beneficiaries.
While discussing a demand for grant pertaining to Agriculture in the State Assembly today, MLA K Meghachandra raised a cut motion and said that benefits of several Central schemes are not delivered properly to farmers.
The Agriculture Department is highly corrupt and a big scam has been unveiled, he said.
An individual has been found receiving the benefits of Pradhan Mantri Kishan Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) repeatedly by simply changing the name of the district, Meghachandra said.
He said that Rs 129.49 crore was sanctioned for the State under PMKSY.
A big scam has marred the Prime Minister’s flagship scheme and this is extremely disappointing for all farmers of the State, he said.
Being highly educated, the nodal officer and the staff tasked with implementing the scheme are quite adept in looting public money, Meghachandra said.
Following RTI reports about presence of more than one member of a family in the list of beneficiaries, officials went for a field verification but they were met with gunshots, he said.
Agriculture Department furnished a list of over five lakh farmers for the PM-Kisan scheme and over two lakh people received benefits of the scheme.
With the objective of getting the scheme’s benefits, the Agriculture Department submitted fabricated documents claiming that all the applicants have at least one or two pari of agricultural land. This has prompted the Centre to reduce the quantity of rice allocated to the State’s CAF&PD Department, Meghachandra said.
He also asked if the Government has initiated any process to pay compensation to the farmers who could not till their fields on account of the violent crisis.
Responding to the cut motion, Chief Minister Y Khemchand said it would be highly appreciated if evidence of wrongdoings reach him during the ongoing Assembly session.
As it is known that there are certain irregularities in the Agriculture Department, a departmental enquiry will be conducted, he said.
The claim that there are over five lakh farmers in Manipur is too much, he remarked.
A list of 5808 farmers was submitted in 2023-24 when the violent crisis was at its peak. After verification by the Home Department, an amount of Rs 34.13 crore was released for the farmers who could not till their fields.
It was rather surprising that a list of 10,286 affected farmers was submitted in 2024-25 when the violence had subsided to some extent.
Nonetheless, the Government will look into the case of genuinely affected farmers who have not received compensation from the Government, the Chief Minister told the House.
While discussing the demand for grant regarding Education, MLA Th Lokeshwar suggested implementing a proper transfer policy of teachers. He also raised the issue of Naorem Birahari College.
Responding to the Congress MLA, Khemchand said that the shortage of Government teachers stands at around 47 per cent.
Saying that the Government has been working to recruit the required number of teachers, the Chief Minister assured that he will instruct relevant authorities to look into the issues of Naorem Birahari College.
To a query raised by Th Lokeshwar on the Panchayat elections, the Chief Minister said that the State Government is unable to hold the local body elections on account of the law and order situation, and the financial crisis.
“During my recent trip to New Delhi, I sought an amount of Rs 646 crore from the Centre for urban local bodies. So far, Rs 25.60 crore has been sanctioned “, Khemchand added.