400 crores spent but drip irrigation system defunct and non functional in majority of agricultural fields in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand which was formed after forty three invaluable sacrifices and thousands of activists going to jails with thousands losing their professional and academic future is today allegedly infamous for massive corruption unfortunately.

The state has a massive fiscal deficit of more than ninety thousand crores of rupees in just twenty five years swelling from 2 to 4 thousand crores since 2004.

A recent startling revelation made by a renowned RTI activist of Uttarakhand, a senior advocate by profession has compelled all to bite their nails under their teeth.

He sought information on the PMKSY scheme through his written request under RTI which categorically revealed that the real benefit of the scheme primarily meant for the peasants of the state weren’t benefited at all as the drip irrigation system is defunct , non functionary completely.

The revelation revealed that till date more than Rs. 400 crores have been spent on this PMKSY scheme by the Agriculture and horticulture department but the Drip Irrigation system is lying non functional and completely defunct in majority of the agricultural farms in hundreds of villages of Uttarakhand.

It may be recalled that it started with the primary objective to create maximum produce in every agricultural farm with little water consumption under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana ( scheme) but has been plagued unfortunately by the existing significant irregularities.

Despite the significant expenditure, farmers have not benefited from the scheme, and their fields remain destitute. RTI activist and Dehradun based senior advocate Vikesh Negi has revealed that no work has been done on the ground, while crores of rupees have been spent surreptitiously.

He has sent complaint forms to the relevant district officials and also filed a complaint with the Dehradun District Magistrate.

According to Vikesh Negi the related party evaluation, the audit report of the Chartered Accountant, the CAG audit report, and the internal audit of the scheme claim to have revealed several serious irregularities in beneficiary verification, document maintenance, inspection, monitoring, and compliance with the scheme’s guidelines.

A complaint has been sent to all district magistrates demanding impartial and transparent thorough investigation into the matter.

However, the Dehradun district magistrate has been extremely forthcoming having accorded his immediate consent for a thorough investigation in this scam.

According to the latest report : During the survey, the condition of drip irrigation systems installed in Pauri, Garhwal in 2016-17 and 2017-18 was assessed.

The assessment revealed that many farmers benefited from the scheme, but the systems later stopped working due to lack of maintenance and technical support.

The assessment revealed that only drip pipe remnants were found in some fields instead of the entire system. In majority of the cases the land was provided to the farmers, but the proper installation of the irrigation system was not carried out. This raises questions about the true purpose of the scheme and the government’s expenditure on it. Even in Rudraprayag district during the third party evaluation the feedback from farmers raised questions about the scheme’s implementation.

According to farmers, in some cases, suppliers provided only the materials but did not provide training on proper installation, testing, and operation of the IP system.

Consequently, farmers were unable to properly use and maintain the provided technology.

Subsequently the intended benefits of micro-digestion technology, which was intended to save water and increase crop productivity, did not reach the farmers at the ground level .

Similarly as per the evaluation conducted in Pithoragarh also revealed that many farmers were provided only with pipes, filters, and drippers. Therefore the system’s sham and the lack of necessary training to farmers prevented a large number of beneficiaries from truly benefiting from the PMKSY scheme.

Here the basic question arises as to how the tax payers money spent on the scheme will actually yield credible results if the farmers are provided only with the equipment but not the training to install, operate, and maintain the system asked the RTI activist ?

In addition to the above discrepancies and shortages the Chartered Accountant’s audit report also points to several serious irregularities during the audit of the scheme’s accounts.

According to the report, deficiencies were found in beneficiary verification, document maintenance, inspection procedures, and record keeping.

Furthermore, questions have been raised regarding compliance with government orders, monitoring and evaluation procedures, and adherence to relevant guidelines in the scheme’s implementation. The complaint also mentions objections related to CAG and internal audits.