GUWAHATI, Feb 9: Alleging massive corruption in purchase of tractors under Chief Minister Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana (CMSGUY) in the state agriculture department, Opposition Congress on Friday demanded an all party House Committee to probe into the entire deal.

“The government paid a higher amount in case of one particular tractor company, named Preet Tractors Pvt. Ltd. The company quoted the price of one tractor in Farmer Portal as Rs 5.83 lakh. But the government e-marketplace (GeM) portal shows price of one tractor as Rs 4.53 lakh,” Opposition leader Debabrata Saikia told reporters in Guwahati on Friday.

“This price difference hints at the massive corruption at the top level”, Saikia said. “It may be a case of a few hundred or even thousand crore … We demand an all-party House committee probe into the matter,” Saikia also said.

The government has planned to distribute 10,134 tractors among farmers across the state under the CMSGUY to double income of farmers. “The scheme had also promised farmers their choice of brand for the tractors, but some ‘influential people’ compelled them to accept vehicles of just one particular company”, Saikia alleged.

Preet Tractors Pvt. Ltd. was earlier blacklisted for insolvency by the Centre in 2016. “It is surprising as to how the government selected the company for supply of tractors,” he said.

The price of the tractor is also different that what the company displayed in the “GeM Portal”, which was launched by Centre exclusively for purchase of agricultural equipments. “Had the government purchased the tractors through GeM Portal, there would be 10-15% discount. But the government preferred to choose ‘Farmers Portal’ for the deal. The reason is best known to them,” he also said.

“The agriculture department has organised special melas at various parts of the state showcasing the Preet tractors and encouraged the farmers to purchase such tractors,” he further said.

“Many officials and bureaucrats might have benefitted from it. One of them is building his resort in Himachal Pradesh. You (media) please find out,” the Opposition leader said.

Stating that the Congress will raise the issue on the floor of the House during the ongoing Budget Session, he said the company in question is also under the scanner of the Central government over various fraudulent activities.

What irony is that the government is yet to hand over the tractors to farmers. “As a result, many individual farmers and self-help groups (SHGs) have to bear the interests of bank loans they have taken for purchase of tractors, needless to talk of subsidy,” the senior Congress leader said.

According to the scheme, 10% of the amount will be borne by the SHGs, 20% by banks and 70% will be government subsidies. But due to hike in prices of tractors, the customers will now have to pay 35% of the total cost of the tractor, he also said.

On December 10 last year, Assam government had started distributing tractors across the state as part of its initiative to double farmers’ income by 2022, under the Chief Minister Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana (CMSGUY).

Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that Rs 1,000 crore earmarked for the tractor distribution programme will provide for 70 percent subsidy and 20 per cent of the cost will be borne by the banks. The rest has to come from the beneficiaries.

Saikia said it has become a “money making scheme” for some people in the government. “In 2016, the government announced this scheme for rural development, envisaging an investment of Rs 30,000 crore over the next five years. So ideally, by the end of the first year, there should have been an investment of at least Rs 5,000 crore and till now, Rs 7,500 crore should have been spent for the scheme. Nothing of that sort has happened,” he also said.

The senior Congress MLA also alleged mining irregularities by Coal India in the state and sought a CBI enquiry into the issue. He said the Congress has raised the issue several times in the past, but nobody paid heed to it.

It was only after RTI activist Akhil Gogoi flagged the matter last week, people took a note of it, he said. “Syndicate pressure and over-loading of coal India trucks are old issues. There are rampant irregularities going on in the state. As the company (Coal India Ltd) is a Central government undertaking, we demand a CBI enquiry into the issue,” he added.

News Source The Hill Times