Agri officers in the dark about schemes, funds
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 10, 2013: Except for a couple of officials, officers of Agriculture Department starting from Director to District Agriculture Officers (DAOs) are unaware of the Central sponsored schemes implemented in the State in agriculture and allied sectors as well as the quantum of funds sanctioned for these schemes.

Some high ranking officials of the department said that a few officials have been keeping all Central sponsored schemes to themselves without even informing the Director.

With majority of the officials kept unaware of such schemes, transparency is out of the question.

Absence or lack transparency is not something new in the department.

But all efforts and consultations among the top officials for the past many years to maintain transparency did not yield any positive result.

Whereas DAOs were not informed at the time of implementation of schemes or distribution of goods to people, the DAOs were asked to conduct the verification process at the end of each financial year when documents for implementing the schemes or distribution of materials must be sent to the Centre.

Again, when the DAOs asked their superior officers which, when and how much materials have been distributed, the officers maintained that the materials were distributed through MLAs.

In this way, the few officers who have been literally controlling several Central sponsored schemes browbeat the DAOs.

The final process of auditing is also bereft of transparency and it is always done in surreptitious manner.

The officials asked why DAOs are kept in the dark while implementing a scheme.

Although it is said that the annual budget allocation for agriculture and allied sector is very little, the Government of India has been sponsoring a good number of schemes.

Apart from lack of transparency in paying due amounts to other departments out of the fund sanctioned to Agriculture Department by the Centre for implementation of RKVY, the official in charge of the scheme appears to be acting on his own whim.

The matter of keeping all the central sponsored schemes to a few officials has been taken up with the Chief Minister.

Even though the National Food Security Mission (Rice) was received with the highest expectation when it was launched by the Centre, the scheme was put under the control of an officer who has been already controlling many other schemes.

This bred much dissent amongst officials of the department.

The voice of dissent eventually reached the Chief Minister and it was directed to take away the National Food Security Mission (Rice) from the particular officer.

Though the scheme was officially pulled out from the particular officer, it is not yet clear to which officer has the scheme been entrusted, informed the officials.

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