Padmapur: Many farmers who have applied for assistance under the KALIA (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) scheme of the state government are getting messages on their mobile phones that the first installment of the money due to them has been deposited in their bank accounts.
But when they approach banks they are told by officials that money has not been deposited in their accounts.
The scheme provides a financial assistance of Rs 25,000 for five crop seasons to small, marginal and landless farmers, share croppers and farming families to carry out farming in both kharif and rabi seasons and to pay wages.
As per rules, the first and second installments of the assistance of Rs 5,000 each should have gone to the bank accounts of farmers. Once the money is deposited in the bank accounts of farmers they would be intimated through SMSes.
However, the ground reality is completely different. Many farmers are only getting SMSes that money has been transferred to their bank accounts. When they approach their banks they are told that no money has been transferred into their accounts.
Kumar Meher, a differently-abled farmer of Brahmandihi village in the Dahigaon panchayat of Padmapur block, got an SMS about the money. He checked with his bank twice about it, but the bank told him that no money has come into his account.
Some other farmers who had a similar experience are Kangalu Meher, a small farmer and Tulasi Prasad Patra, a marginal farmer, belonging to the same village.
Around 109 farmers of Darliguda village were included in the list of beneficiaries, but only three got the first installment of Rs 5,000.
The local gram panchayat executive officer and the nodal officer had nothing to say about this.
PNN
