Drip irrigation scam slur on Raman Singh Govt in Chhattisgarh

Opposition Congress in Chhattisgarh has grilled the BJP-led Raman Singh government over the alleged serious irregularities committed over the implementation of drip irrigation system in Mahasamund district. "Ironically, the scheme had been implemented in the pockets that had been paddy growing area while drip irrigation was not possible for the paddy crop," senior Congress legislator and former state minister Mohammed Akbar said. The official records said that more than 350 farmers in Mahasamund district had been provided the benefits.

Akbar charged that most of the beneficiaries received the scheme on papers. While there was provision of releasing the amount only when the beneficiary had installed the system, most of the farmers kept the equipment in the house but received the amount, Akbar said, adding that the drip irrigation was sanctioned at the areas where no water source was available.

Under the scheme, the state government had been providing 75 per cent subsidy to the beneficiary. A drip irrigation system installation costs around Rs 18,000.

After the matter came to the fore, the Mahasamund district administration placed the agriculture department official D S Kushwaha under suspension. Akbar said the district administration had been writing to the state government to take action against the officer for last couple of months. "Since the government protected the official, it underlines that higher authorities are also involved in the corruption," he added.