Chhatrapur: The district administration Wednesday began a probe into irregularities in farm loan disbursement under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana in the local branch of Berhampur Central Cooperative Bank (BCCB).
The matter was taken up for probe after farmers under Pottlampur cooperative society here met district collector Prem Chandra Choudhury and apprised him of the irregularities.
Choudhury accompanied by sub-collector Sudhakar Sabar and tehsildar Subhendu Sahu arrived at the bank in afternoon and detected the irregularities during verification of loan papers. Choudhury’s sudden arrival triggered panic among bank officials as they tried their best to shield themselves.
He detected large scale irregularities in loan disbursement and ordered for probe.
The collector pulled up branch manager Jagannath Padhi asking him why farmers under the society have been deprived of loans when people not associated with farming activities have been given loans.
He verified a passbook and found that a government advocate has been sanctioned Rs 1 lakh loan under the Central scheme.
After being summoned by the collector, deputy director of agriculture Sudarsan Mohanty accompanied by bank’s assistant general manager (AGM) Bhawani Prasad Pattnaik and officials of deputy registrar cooperative society (DRCS) reached the bank.
The collector directed them to verify various documents relating to loan disbursement and see where norms were violated in sanctioning of loans.
The duo along with the tehsildar conducted a probe into the matter which continued till the evening. The team will submit a report to the collector for action at his end after completion of the probe.
According to norms, only members of the primary agricultural cooperative societies are eligible for loans under the scheme.
A supervisor of Pottlampur cooperative society is holding the charge as secretary as the post has been lying vacant. The Chhatrapur branch of the bank has 18 societies under its jurisdiction. PNN
