Serious lapses in Rs 52,000 crore farm loan waiver scheme: CAG
7 March 2013 5:15 AM IST
The Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) final report on the farm debt waiver scheme has found major irregularities in implementation of the Rs 52,000 crore scheme. The report was tabled in Parliament pointed out problems with one out of every five cases covered by the scheme, which was announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2008 and is credited with being one of the major reasons for his government’s re-election a year later.
The CAG report said over Rs 20 crore were doled to ineligible farmers for purposes other than agriculture. The scheme was announced by the UPA government in 2008 and it had written off debt of more than 3.7 crore farmers.
There are lapses in over 22 per cent of the cases and over 13 per cent of the beneficiaries were eligible under the scheme but were not considered, according to the CAG report said. There were also no acknowledgement taken from over 34 per cent or a third of the farmers.
‘Out of 9,334 accounts test checked in audit across nine states, 1,257 accounts (13.46 per cent) were those which were found in audit to be eligible for benefit under the scheme, but were not considered by the lending institutions while preparing the list of eligible farmers,’ says the report.
Of the farmer accounts audited by CAG, whose report said that ‘farmers who had taken loan for non-agricultural purposes or whose loans did not meet eligibility conditions, were given benefits under the scheme.’ Other farmers, who qualified for assistance, were overlooked.
Meanwhile, the CAG has pulled up Women and Child Development Ministry for diversion of ICDS funds.
BJP DEMANDS CBI INQUIRY
Citing the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on farm loan waiver, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday alleged that a fresh scam of over Rs 10,000 crore has surfaced in the implementation of the scheme and demanded a CBI probe to book the culprits. According to the CAG report, nearly 34 lakh eligible farmers were denied their right to debt waiver and more than 24 lakh ineligible beneficiaries have gained through this.
‘The CAG report is an eye opener and the BJP demands immediate CBI probe to unearth the real extent of the scam,’ said BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadkar.
The CAG report said over Rs 20 crore were doled to ineligible farmers for purposes other than agriculture. The scheme was announced by the UPA government in 2008 and it had written off debt of more than 3.7 crore farmers.
There are lapses in over 22 per cent of the cases and over 13 per cent of the beneficiaries were eligible under the scheme but were not considered, according to the CAG report said. There were also no acknowledgement taken from over 34 per cent or a third of the farmers.
‘Out of 9,334 accounts test checked in audit across nine states, 1,257 accounts (13.46 per cent) were those which were found in audit to be eligible for benefit under the scheme, but were not considered by the lending institutions while preparing the list of eligible farmers,’ says the report.
Of the farmer accounts audited by CAG, whose report said that ‘farmers who had taken loan for non-agricultural purposes or whose loans did not meet eligibility conditions, were given benefits under the scheme.’ Other farmers, who qualified for assistance, were overlooked.
Meanwhile, the CAG has pulled up Women and Child Development Ministry for diversion of ICDS funds.
BJP DEMANDS CBI INQUIRY
Citing the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on farm loan waiver, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday alleged that a fresh scam of over Rs 10,000 crore has surfaced in the implementation of the scheme and demanded a CBI probe to book the culprits. According to the CAG report, nearly 34 lakh eligible farmers were denied their right to debt waiver and more than 24 lakh ineligible beneficiaries have gained through this.
‘The CAG report is an eye opener and the BJP demands immediate CBI probe to unearth the real extent of the scam,’ said BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadkar.
Next Story
