At 16.37 lakh hectares, Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under organic farming in the country and an attempt to give this a boost has fallen prey to corruption, an investigation has revealed. Crores of rupees earmarked to promote the environmentally friendly method of farming, which is good for the soil, crops and even consumers, have allegedly been swindled by local officials.
The state government has said it will look into the matter and take appropriate action.
In the tribal-dominated Anuppur district, the local administration conducted a thorough investigation and found that the money allocated from the District Mineral Fund in 2019-20 to promote organic farming in the area has been misappropriated. The administration has now recommended that the Economic Offences Wing and the Agriculture Department take action against the officials involved.
Under the plan, 5,000 farmers from various villages in the district were to receive vermicomposting beds, organic manure, earthworms, nets, literature, and training. Accordingly, a sum of Rs 6.93 crore was allocated from the fund, out of which Rs 2.9 crore was allocated to the Agriculture Department's Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) Project, Anuppur, to procure materials, Rs 2.93 lakh for training and other works, and Rs 1.08 crore was given to a private company for soil testing. The allotment per farmer was Rs 9,770.
Materials Missing, Training Too
When NDTV visited villages like Baskhali and Changeri in Kotma block and spoke to farmers who were supposed to have benefited from the programme, the findings were alarming.
In Baskhali, the vermicompost beds provided to farmers, which are made of material akin to tarpaulin, were found to be spread out over roofs to protect houses from the rain. Farmer Motilal Singh said, "I got a net and a bed for vermicomposting, but no earthworms. Without them, the other materials were useless, and no compost was ever made."
Mohan Singh, another farmer, had to purchase earthworms himself to make compost. Four other farmers, Kamlesh, Sunita, Lalman, and Hiralal, also echoed the complaints and added that they never received the soil testing reports which would enable them to understand how much compost to use or what crops to grow.
In Changeri, farmer Belan Singh Marko stated that no training was provided, and the nets and beds were left unused in gardens.
In villages like Gohindra, Pathraudi Manmari, and Perichua too, farmers reported receiving incomplete materials and no training. Former district panchayat member Buddhsen Rathore said he was the first to raise these issues but no action was taken.
'Will Act'
Attempts to contact the deputy director of the Anuppur Agriculture Department and the ATMA project director were unsuccessful. The investigation and complaint letters have, however, reached the Agriculture Department and the Economic Offences Wing.
State Agriculture Minister Aidal Singh Kansana said, "Wherever there is a matter of corruption, we investigate and take action. I will talk to the collector of Anuppur. If any such thing is found, we will take action against the guilty."