Pushkar Singh Dhami government is continuously attacking the corruption cases. In the same sequence, after confirming the allegations of irregularities in Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY), Agriculture and Land Conservation Officer of Raipur under Dehradun district, Rajdev Panwar has been suspended. Along with this, clarification has been sought from Dehradun’s Chief Agriculture Officer Latika Singh, apart from Raipur’s Nyay Panchayat in-charge Virendra Singh Negi and retired development block in-charge Vinod Dhasmana, for not doing verification during and after the implementation of the scheme.
Complaints received here
The government had received complaints regarding the work being done under PMKSY in Raipur area. Not only this, during the Public Grievance Redressal Day in October last year, the area residents had raised this matter with the District Magistrate and demanded action.
Meanwhile, the government attached Raipur’s Agriculture and Land Conservation Officer Rajdev Panwar to the Agriculture Directorate and got the allegations of irregularities in PMKSY against him investigated. After the complaints were confirmed, Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi had given instructions to the Secretary and Director General to take strict action in the matter. Agriculture and Horticulture Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman on Friday issued orders to suspend Agriculture and Soil Conservation Officer Panwar.
Showed the implementation of the plan even where there is no water
According to the suspension order, there were irregularities at every step in the implementation of the scheme in Raipur area. Citing the investigation report of the case, it was said that no process was adopted in the selection of beneficiaries in the scheme. Irrigation scheme was also implemented in some villages where there was no water source or there was shortage of water. For the micro irrigation system, pipes were connected to the water tap from Gadere, whereas the tank for this should have been connected to the check dam. Not only this, despite a complaint being received before the District Magistrate on October 30, the material was distributed at most of the places, even though the entire payment had already been made.
Payment of invoices and grants was made directly to the firms, whereas this payment was to be made to the farmers through DBT. The invoices of some farmers were paid to the firms twice. The funds received from the Center and the State were also paid erroneously.
Payment made by transferring government money to savings account
According to the suspension order, Agriculture and Land Conservation Officer, Raipur transferred Rs 87.38 lakh from the government account to the savings account. Payment for mini and micro sprinkler sets was made from this savings account, whereas it should have been from the government account. Fake signatures of farmers were found on their application forms and affidavits. Most of the geo tagging photographs and sprinkler set photographs were also wrong.
Answer sought from Chief Agriculture Officer within 15 days
Agriculture and Horticulture Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman has also sought clarification from Dehradun Chief Agriculture Officer Latika Singh in this matter. In the notice sent to the Chief Agriculture Officer, he cited the investigation report of the case of irregularities in PMKSY in Raipur area and said that the Chief Agriculture Officer did not do verification and inspection during and after the implementation of the scheme. This was expected as per their work and responsibilities. The Chief Agriculture Officer has been instructed to provide his clarification to the government within 15 days.
Justice Panchayat and development block in-charge also did not verify
The Agriculture and Horticulture Secretary has sent a letter to the Director General of Agriculture and Horticulture and instructed that clarification should also be taken from Raipur Nyaya Panchayat in-charge Virendra Singh Negi and the then development block in-charge Vinod Dhasmana (now retired). Both of them are accused of not on-site verification of mini and micro sprinkler sets and sprinkler sets in the villages.
