Nayagarh: Linking their Aadhaar numbers to get urea has proved costly for the farmers in Nayagarh district, as over 1,634 sacks of fertilizers were allegedly siphoned off in the name of 86 farmers, a report said. This fraud has been reported from Kaima village under Similisahi panchayat of Daspalla block in this district.
The matter came to fore after farmers of Kaima village lodged a complaint with the district collector and submitted copies of it to the agriculture officer and tehsildar of Daspalla block. The fraud has drawn flak from various quarters prompting the Agriculture and Revenue departments to launch a joint probe into the matter.
Farmers alleged that this fraud was committed after they linked their Aadhaar numbers to get urea at subsidised price for their crops. According to the complaint, a staffer of Mahavir Krushi Pratisthan in Nayagarh took the name of the local sarpanch’s husband and asked the farmers of Kaima village in Similisahi panchayat to link their Aadhaar numbers to get urea at half the price of a packet. The staffer noted down their Aadhaar numbers in a register (317172) to help them get urea.
The farmers were even warned that those who will not link their Aadhaar numbers will not be able to avail of the benefit. Keeping this in mind, 86 of the 185 families in the village linked their Aadhaar numbers to get urea at subsidised rates.
They were expecting to get a call soon to receive their quota. However, they were left stunned when they found that urea has been lifted from the godown in the name of the farmers who had given their Aadhaar numbers.
After reports surfaced, complaints of similar nature started pouring with the agriculture officers and tehsildars of various blocks and tehsils in the district.
Narrating their ordeal, farmers Trilochan Pradhan, Lakshmidhar Pradhan, Bideshi Mallick said that the government has launched various schemes for the benefit of farmers. However, the farmers are easily getting tricked as no awareness drive is being undertaken to sensitise them on the schemes. They demanded that the district Agriculture department should take remedial steps to mitigate the sufferings of the farmers.
When contacted, district Agriculture officer Bijay Pradhan confirmed that farmers have been duped. He said similar complaints have been reported from various parts of the district. After getting to know about the incident, the additional district magistrate (ADM) has ordered the DAO and tehsildar to conduct a probe into the charges and submit a report to him. Action will be taken after receipt of the report, he added.
Farmer Ranjit Dalabehera of Balugaon village said that stringent action should be taken against the persons involved in the fraud. He said prompt disciplinary action will deter others from committing such types of fraud in the future.
