GUWAHATI: The implementation of the Center’s flagship scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi’ (PM-KISAN) in Assam has run into problems, starting from 35 percent of applicants being found. not eligible for the recovery of only 0.24 percent of fund released for this non-rights beneficiaryas detected by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAGAn audit of the scheme’s performance from December 2018 to March 2021 found that out of 41,87,023 applications from the state, 10,66,593 (25 percent) were rejected by PM-KISAN portal and Public Finance Management System.
Further, the state government stated that 11,72,685 (37 percent) out of 31,20,430 beneficiaries were ineligible through the investigation conducted from May-July 2020 across the state.
Only 0.24 percent of the funds released to these ineligible beneficiaries were received back until October 2021, which was not returned to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, the CAG report, which was tabled in the state assembly recently, said.
The CAG report also revealed that the inquiry was initiated in May 2020 on the orders of the chief minister, following complaints from various parties about anomalies in the list of beneficiaries, finding 15,59,286 ineligible names during verification across the country from May to July 2020.
Among the various categories of ineligible beneficiaries are non-agricultural beneficiaries, government employees and pensioners, and multiple entries.
According to the verification report, 11,31,152 (72.54 percent) of over 15 lakh ineligible beneficiaries were found untraceable.
When the auditor pointed out the difference in the figure of ineligible beneficiaries provided by the state nodal officer (SNO) (11,72,685) and that mentioned in the verification report (15,59,286), the state government said that “another verification is underway and thus, the figure is dynamicâ.
The audit, which was conducted in 10 districts selected based on the saturation level of beneficiaries, found lack of monitoring and non-compliance with guidelines for the implementation of the scheme at various stages.
Apart from the 10 districts, Barpeta was also selected because of the highest number of ineligible beneficiaries in the country.
Twenty-two blocks from 11 selected sub-districts, with three villages in each block, were taken for audit, including the records of 15 beneficiaries (a total of 990) per selected village.
The performance audit revealed that the state government did not maintain a database of land-owning farmer families to identify potential beneficiaries.
Emphasis is given on uploading large amount of beneficiary data in a short period of time rather than ensuring the eligibility of the beneficiaries under the provisions of the scheme.
Lack of monitoring by supervisory officers also affected the implementation of the scheme, the audit report said.
It also stated that the audit exercise was “affected due to non-cooperation in providing records/information by the Director of Agriculture”.
The analysis of the SNO database by the audit detected that the false registration number was created by zeros at the beginning of the bank account number, as a result of the various benefits credited to the same bank account against the various registrations.
The audit found 3,577 such registrations in 16 out of 33 districts for which Rs 3.01 crore was released, the report added.
It also found that multiple registrations were made using the same bank account of 3,104 beneficiaries in 10 districts, although no benefits were released to these beneficiaries.
The audit also found that funds were being released to beneficiaries with names containing mixed letters or special characters.
An examination of records shows that out of the Rs 2.18 crore received for administrative expenses, the SNO has sent utilization certificates (UC) of only Rs 77 lakh to the Government of India, with the remaining UC not available until October 2021.
The exercise of physical verification of beneficiaries by supervisory officials is not given importance in the country, which not only violates the provisions of the operational guidelines but also points to ineffective monitoring and supervision of the implementation of the scheme in the country, CAG reports. said.
The state government, which received audit observations, said in February 2022 that 100 per cent re-verification would be carried out from June 2021 through revenue officers under the supervision of deputy commissioners and Principal Secretaries of Sixth Schedule areas, the report added. .
Further, the state government stated that 11,72,685 (37 percent) out of 31,20,430 beneficiaries were ineligible through the investigation conducted from May-July 2020 across the state.
Only 0.24 percent of the funds released to these ineligible beneficiaries were received back until October 2021, which was not returned to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, the CAG report, which was tabled in the state assembly recently, said.
The CAG report also revealed that the inquiry was initiated in May 2020 on the orders of the chief minister, following complaints from various parties about anomalies in the list of beneficiaries, finding 15,59,286 ineligible names during verification across the country from May to July 2020.
Among the various categories of ineligible beneficiaries are non-agricultural beneficiaries, government employees and pensioners, and multiple entries.
According to the verification report, 11,31,152 (72.54 percent) of over 15 lakh ineligible beneficiaries were found untraceable.
When the auditor pointed out the difference in the figure of ineligible beneficiaries provided by the state nodal officer (SNO) (11,72,685) and that mentioned in the verification report (15,59,286), the state government said that “another verification is underway and thus, the figure is dynamicâ.
The audit, which was conducted in 10 districts selected based on the saturation level of beneficiaries, found lack of monitoring and non-compliance with guidelines for the implementation of the scheme at various stages.
Apart from the 10 districts, Barpeta was also selected because of the highest number of ineligible beneficiaries in the country.
Twenty-two blocks from 11 selected sub-districts, with three villages in each block, were taken for audit, including the records of 15 beneficiaries (a total of 990) per selected village.
The performance audit revealed that the state government did not maintain a database of land-owning farmer families to identify potential beneficiaries.
Emphasis is given on uploading large amount of beneficiary data in a short period of time rather than ensuring the eligibility of the beneficiaries under the provisions of the scheme.
Lack of monitoring by supervisory officers also affected the implementation of the scheme, the audit report said.
It also stated that the audit exercise was “affected due to non-cooperation in providing records/information by the Director of Agriculture”.
The analysis of the SNO database by the audit detected that the false registration number was created by zeros at the beginning of the bank account number, as a result of the various benefits credited to the same bank account against the various registrations.
The audit found 3,577 such registrations in 16 out of 33 districts for which Rs 3.01 crore was released, the report added.
It also found that multiple registrations were made using the same bank account of 3,104 beneficiaries in 10 districts, although no benefits were released to these beneficiaries.
The audit also found that funds were being released to beneficiaries with names containing mixed letters or special characters.
An examination of records shows that out of the Rs 2.18 crore received for administrative expenses, the SNO has sent utilization certificates (UC) of only Rs 77 lakh to the Government of India, with the remaining UC not available until October 2021.
The exercise of physical verification of beneficiaries by supervisory officials is not given importance in the country, which not only violates the provisions of the operational guidelines but also points to ineffective monitoring and supervision of the implementation of the scheme in the country, CAG reports. said.
The state government, which received audit observations, said in February 2022 that 100 per cent re-verification would be carried out from June 2021 through revenue officers under the supervision of deputy commissioners and Principal Secretaries of Sixth Schedule areas, the report added. .
