Nadodi Mannan – released in
1958 was a film directed by MG Ramachandran – besides MGR in dual roles, there
was P Bhanumathi, MN Rajam, Sarojadevi, PS Veerappa, MN Nambiar and
others. Like many MGR films this too spoke about socio
economic upliftment of farmers and this song sung by Bhanumathi and TM Soundararajan was
quite catchy !
சும்மா கெடந்த நெலத்தக்
கொத்தி; சோம்பலில்லாமே ஏர் நடத்தி
கம்மாக் கரைய ஒசத்திக்
கட்டி; கரும்புக் கொல்லையில் வாய்க்கால் வெட்டி
சம்பாப் பயிரைப்
பறிச்சு நட்டு; தகந்த முறையில் தண்ணீர் விட்டு.. .. ..
காடு வெளைஞ்சென்ன
மச்சான் நமக்கு; கையுங் காலுந்தானே மிச்சம்
Anniyan [literally
Stranger] had a great theme – conceptually it was the guilty being punished…
through the character of an innocent and honest lawyer. One powerful
dialogue penned by the Great Sujatha became an instant hit – but remembered
more of a comedy… it was - “Anju paisa thiruduna
thappaa? (Is stealing of five paise is wrong)” ~ it is not that 5
paise but the act of stealing and the impact is not that of that single act –
but that of attitude – when lakhs of people all steal 5 paise – the effect is
manifold and corruption is the biggest disease that afflicts the Nation. So does
‘triviality’ matter indeed ??
PM Kisan is
a Central Sector scheme with 100% funding from Government of India. It became operational in Dec 2018. Under the scheme an income support of 6,000/-
per year in three equal installments is being provided to small and marginal farmer families
having combined land holding/ownership of upto 2 hectares. Definition of family
for the scheme is husband, wife and minor children. Under the scheme, State Government and UT
administration will identify the farmer families which are eligible for support
as per scheme guidelines. The fund gets directly transferred to the bank accounts of
the beneficiaries. It is not even 2
years fully operational – and there are news of a major scam in Tamil Nadu !
Under the Prime Minister
Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme, the present Modi Government has sent 6000 rupees to the bank account of 8 crore 95
lakh farmers till 3 September 2020.
These are farmers whose records have been registered with the
authorities. Central government has
implemented this scheme to support farmers in distress. SAD that even during
difficult Covid 19 times, with Govt focused on fighting the dreaded Virus, a big
network of fraudsters devised plans and ate away PM-KISAN funds for which
farmers were desperately waiting.
Indian Express had this
report in detail : The lush fields and scenic hills around
Varappalayam camouflage the distress of farmers living in the village very
well. For the impoverished workers of the perennially ailing sector, the Covid
pandemic and associated lockdowns were a brutal body blow. K Ranganathan, one
such farmer from Varappalayam near Coimbatore, pinned his hopes on the Central
government’s financial assistance programme, to tide through the tough times.
The officials executing the programme, however, seemed to have different ideas.
“I had heard of the
PM-Kisan scheme, and wanted to avail the benefits doled out for the sake of
farmers by the Central government,” says Ranganathan. “However, when I visited
a nationalised bank’s branch, they kept persuading me to take a crop loan if I
wanted to get a Kisan card. The interest rate at the bank is a whopping 8 per
cent. Why would I do that? I would get the same loan at a much cheaper rate of
interest from a cooperative society.” Then, why not get a Kisan card from a
cooperative society? “I tried, but the society wanted me to buy fertilizers
from them in return for the Kisan card.
The trouble with that deal
is that the society does not give us the fertilizer we want. They try to push
the product they prefer.” Ranganathan has been trying to get a Kisan card since
June, but his attempts have gone in vain. “If I had the card, I would get the
Rs 6,000 financial incentive being offered by the government to farmers to help
us tide through the Covid-related distress.” Not just that. The Kisan card
would also help Ranganathan take small bank loans without giving any
collateral, at an interest rate of mere 2 per cent. Considering the benefits,
Ranganathan has not given up trying. S Nachimutu, a farmer from Madukkarai, has
had similar experience while applying for a Kisan card. The only difference is
that Nachimutu has been trying for the last six months. For both these farmers,
Kisan card is the panacea for which they have been looking. It is right there
in front of them, but out of reach.
Now, cut to
Virudhachalam, in the northern part of Tamil Nadu. Daily wage labourer Bhavani*
has been unemployed since the lockdown began. In April, when her family was
struggling without her meagre income that, until then, kept them afloat, a
neighbour told Bhavani about a new financial assistance programme of the
government. All that Bhavani had to do was fill out a few forms, submit her
Aadhaar details and ID proof, and she would get money from the government. Thrilled, Bhavani did as she was told. When
asked, the neighbour told Bhavani that she had found out about the scheme
through a relative who works with the Agriculture Department in Cuddalore. “A
fortnight after I completed the formalities, I received Rs 2,000 in my bank
account, of which my neighbour demanded Rs 1,000 as commission.” Only then did
Bhavani realise that she was an illegal beneficiary of the PM-Kisan scheme.
There is no
farmer or farm worker in Bhavani’s family, yet she got the money meant as
assistance for farmers. It appears Bhavani’s neighbour, or the relative who
works in the Agriculture Department, used Bhavani’s credentials to open a fake
beneficiary account. They gave half the money to Bhavani to make her a party in
the crime. “I have never met this relative of my neighbour ever, not even
during all these transactions.” In August too, Bhavani got Rs 2,000, of which
the neighbour took Rs 1,000. Bhavani is at the tail end of a massive scam that
has recently come to light in Tamil Nadu.
It is suspected that there
is a big network behind this scam, comprising corrupt bank and government
officials apart from people with powerful links. The network corrupted a novel
scheme, conceived to alleviate the distress of farmers, to swindle money meant
for the poor. As a result, farmers like Ranganathan are running pillar to post
to secure the benefits for which they are eligible, while those like Bhavani
have been made unwilling parties to a financial fraud.
So, how deep is
this corruption? In Cuddalore alone, officials have unearthed a whopping 38,000
fake Kisan accounts so far. The process is continuing as more
suspicious accounts are being audited. Till April, there were only 1.79 lakh
beneficiaries of the scheme in Cuddalore, explain sources. After that there was
a spurt -- 80,752 fresh beneficiaries got added; most of them were between July
15 and 31. A joint committee formed by the government -- comprising
agriculture, horticulture, and revenue department officials -- expanded the
probe beyond Cuddalore to 12 other districts. The also suspended the scheme to
avoid further damage. It has come to
light that the scam is centred around Villupuram, Kallakurichi, and Cuddalore.
In the Karmangudi revenue village of Cuddalore, for instance, only 172 out of
the 474 new beneficiaries are genuine farmers, point out members of farmers
associations, who are now up in arms against the fraudsters.
The fake accounts,
according to sources, were in the names of school-going children, housewives,
and others who had never done farming. The
scamsters hoodwinked vulnerable
citizens, used their documents and identification proofs, and opened fake
accounts. Last Saturday, one such common
service centre in Kallakurichi, opposite the Shankarapuram Revenue Divisional
Office, was sealed as part of the probe. The centre was allegedly forging
documents of ineligible persons for the scheme after taking bribe from them.
The issue was brought to light by farmers, with help from the Left parties. The
District Collector then ordered a freeze on all beneficiary accounts linked to
the centre until further instructions. In some other cases, it has also come to
light that these contractual staff charged Rs 500 from applicants as “computer
fees” and misused their Aadhaar details to open fake accounts.
More than half the
beneficiaries in Kallakurichi are fake, say officials. “A total of 1,40,000
Kisan cards were sanctioned to beneficiaries of which, 75,000 were found to be
ineligible,” says joint director of agriculture Velayudham. “Investigation has
revealed that two government officers leaked the user ID and password of the
database to contractual employees of computer centres, including the one that
was sealed. Using the login details, fake applications were uploaded on to the
database.” So far, three Assistant Directors based in Villupuram and
Kallakurichi have been suspended by the agricultural department, suspecting
they had links with the scam. Officials in Chennai say the investigation is
almost over, and that the “kingpins” behind the scam would be nabbed in the
next few days. “Every penny swindled illegally will be retrieved. After all, we
have all their bank account numbers. There will be no loss of money for the
government,” a senior official said. A few staff members working at computer
centres there have been fired.
Another
report of the Express adds that the authorities have recovered Rs. 2.25 crore
from ineligible accounts of farmers who were enrolled under PM Kisan Samman
Nidhi Yojana (PM-KISAN) scheme in Tiruvannamalai district. The Crime Branch-CID
(CB-CID) has nabbed a woman heading a self-help group (SHG) in connection with
the irregularities. Top authorities of Agriculture and Revenue
departments initiated the inquiry following the irregularities in enrollment
and disbursal of cash under the PM-KISAN came to light recently. They found
that 32,000 accounts belonged to farmers who are ineligible to get the
financial succour from the Centre. Consequently, the process to retrieve the
cash from their accounts was initiated. “Rs. 2.25 crore cash has been recovered
from ineligible accounts,” Tiruvannamalai district collector KS Kandasamy said
on Saturday.
He added, “All the cash
transfer made into the account since 1 April have been subjected to scrutiny to
find how much cash was received by the ineligible farmers.” The accounts of the
suspected farmers have also been held up by the bank authorities so that they
can’t withdraw cash, but allowed to deposit. The field-level officers of
Agriculture and Revenue departments have been visiting those farmers who run
out balance in their account to persuade them to return the cash received under
PM-KISAN. In Vellore, Tirupathur and
Ranipet districts, it was found that about 10,000 ineligible accounts were
opened to avail of the dole, according to a senior officer.
Meanwhile, the sleuths of
CB-CID, which has been probing the financial irregularities, has arrested a
woman heading an SHG in connection with the scam. Thirty-five-year-old Jeeva, a
resident of Perungalathur, Thandarampattu Taluk, in Tiruvannamalai, was held by
a team of CB-CID led by Inspector Dhanalakhsmi on Friday, sources said. She was produced before a local court and
subsequently, remanded to judicial custody. Jeeva, who headed an SHG, was
alleged to have faciliated enrollment of ineligible farmers in the PM-KISAN
scheme, CB-CID sources said. Irregularities
in PM-KISAN have been committed in 13 districts, including Kallakurichy,
Cuddalore and Villupuram, of Northern Tamil Nadu and several crores of money
was swindled. Local authorities of Agriculture department and data entry
operators have allegedly colluded with farmers to enrol ineligible hands to
avail of the financial benefits.
It is a sad
state of affairs – but one would not find it strange that media would not
discuss this, politicians won’t raise voices and even common man would act as
if nothing happened. Has corruption
become so normal ! ~ and why the direct
beneficiaries, the farmers, are not agitating ? Ideally the farmers and their many
Associations should have been on the streets protesting ! for it
was the money meant for them that had been swindled ! – Corruption has really
affected the society !
With
regards – S. Sampathkumar
6.9.2020.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2020/sep/05/pm-kisan-samman-scam-rs-225-crore-recovered-cb-cid-nabs-woman-in-tiruvannamalai-2192869.html
