Guj officials booked for fraudulently availing farm subsidy

Two government officials and four others have been booked for allegedly forging documents of farmers to withdraw almost Rs 1 crore under a government subsidy scheme to build farm ponds, police said.

Officials of the Gujarat State Land Development Corporation (GSLDC) here conspired with four private agents to forge documents of as many as 160 farmers from Shehra tehsil and withdraw money given as subsidy to construct "khet talavdi" (farm ponds) for water conservation, police said.

As part of a scheme, the Gujarat government provides subsidy of upto 90 per cent to farmers who construct such ponds, officials said.

"Mansukh Bariya, a farmer from Khatakpur village here, filed a case against these officials and agents. During investigation, we found that at least 160 farmers from villages in Shehra tehsil were duped in the name of subsidy for construction of farm ponds. The accused withdrew Rs 99.49 lakh," said Shehra police station inspector H V Sisara.

Explaining the modus operandi, the official said, "The officials and agents would obtain details of the ration card, Aadhaar card, voter card and banks accounts of farmers. They would then fill online forms on behalf of the farmers, the latter not even knowing about it."