PM-Kisan Probe

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has finally announced a thorough investigation into the massive irregularities that have allegedly taken place in the selection of beneficiaries under the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme in the State. The Chief Minister's order comes about two weeks after State Agriculture Minister Atul Bora had ordered a departmental investigation and suspension of at least one District Agriculture Officer for allegedly having been responsible for the anomalies in one particular district. While the PM-KISAN scheme provides for direct bank transfer of Rs 6,000 in one year to over 7.5 crore farmers across the country in three equal instalments every four months, government had decided to club two instalments in view of the crisis created by COVID-19. But in Assam, the whole scheme is heading for a massive scandal, with reports already establishing that thousands of non-farmers had already received money through fraudulent means. Those who had received the instalments through such means include government employees, shop-keepers, panchayat functionaries, and kith and kin of different political leaders, among others. This newspaper through these columns had earlier stated that any investigation conducted by officers belonging to the Agriculture department would not produce the desired results. The simple reason for this is that officials of the Agriculture department were themselves involved in the selection of beneficiaries. Moreover, there now appears to be a tendency to identify the non-farmers who had availed the benefits and then punish them. This is ridiculous, because it is common sense that the fraudulent means in such schemes are generally invented by the officials and not by the would-be beneficiaries. Is it possible that thousands of non-farmers got through the selection procedure through fraudulent means without the knowledge and connivance of the departmental officers? Moreover, is it possible that such a large number of ineligible persons were selected without some kind of an approval, if not connivance, of the political parties in power? The Sarbananda Sonowal government being a coalition, is it possible that the Agriculture Minister, who is from a smaller ally of the bigger partner, did not have any inkling about what was happening in the selection of beneficiaries for a scheme so dear to the Prime Minister of the country?