IT News
Imphal, September 1:
Three state government officials were suspended with immediate effect from the 31st of August 2020 by an order of the Governor of Manipur in exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-Rule (2) of Rule 10 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, 1965, for their alleged involvement in registering fake beneficiaries under the PM Kishan Samman Nidhi Scheme in Bishnupur District. The order further states that disciplinary proceedings are also being contemplated against the three officials namely- (1) Robert Okram, LA/SDC, Bishnupur , (2) Salam Blmoljit Singh, LA/SDC(HQ),DC’s Office, Thoubal and (3) Kh. Rahina Shahni, UV SDC, Lilong. The Order also forbids the three suspended officials from leaving their respective headquarters without obtaining prior permission from the competent authority during the period the Order remain in force.
Imphal Times ran a two-series report on June 11 and June 13(Read our report on the same : In Bishnupur district, Ghost beneficiaries found in PM-KISAN schemes )providing details indicating that the monetary assistance provided under Pradhan Mantri Kishan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) seems to be enjoyed by Ghost beneficiaries in Khoijuman Khullen, Khoijuman Khunou and Nachou villages of Bishnupur block in Bishnupur district. PM-KISAN was launched by the government of India to augment the income of the Small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs). The Scheme aims to supplement the financial needs of the SMFs in procuring various inputs to ensure proper crop health and appropriate yields, Commensurate with the anticipated farm income at the end of the each crop cycle. The list of the beneficiaries under the scheme is being uploaded at the official website www.pmkisan.gov.in . According to the lists uploaded for Khoijuman Khullen Village, a total of 221 farmers are being benefitted by the scheme. However, around half the number of beneficiaries are Muslim names who does not exist in the village. Similar is the case for Khoijuman Khunou and Nachou Villages. Half the names of the villagers are Muslim names that do not exist in the Villages. Later, Nodal Officer of PM-KISAN of Bishnupur district Prasanta Oinam in a clarification note said that some beneficiaries who belong to different districts are wrongly entered under the villages of Bishnupur district. The statement mentioned that the wrong inclusion of beneficiaries from other district/villages is caused by the miss- match of beneficiaries in the web portal as there are similar village names at different districts of our state.
The Nodal officer also tried downplaying the issue by stating that the Director of Agriculture Department will be requested to remove the wrongly entered beneficiaries from the web portal but the clarification failed to convince even a single villager of Kwaksiphai and Khoijuman Village. Talking to Imphal Times, a club member of Kwaksiphai points out that when names of villages are different and districts and block are required to be filled in the form how could such a mistake be accepted without taking any action against the wrongdoers. The Zilla Parishad member of Khoijuman, while talking to Imphal Times also said that the DC of Bishnupur district has convened a meeting with all Zilla Parishad members of the district and Pradhans and deliberated on the issue. Mention must be made that the DC of Bishnupur showed impeccable integrity and dedication to duty in this incident as assured to the villagers. Mention may also be made that each beneficiary of PM KISAN gets Rs.6000 on instalment basis per year.
