New Delhi (Agency): The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) recently criticized the Arunachal Pradesh government for its inadequate handling of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme. The scheme, started in 2019, aims to support farmers by offering financial assistance of Rs 6,000 per year.
The CAG report, presented to the Assembly, pointed out “several discrepancies” in the program’s execution in the northeastern state. According to the report, there was no “approved mechanism for eligibility of farmers,” making the primary basis for qualification self-declaration forms. This has led to the inclusion of “ineligible beneficiaries,” a term used for those who should not have received aid but did.
The audit covering 2019-20 to 2020-21 said the state’s nodal department failed to justify how it selected potential beneficiaries. Due to this, the report stated, the actual coverage of the scheme remained unclear. A significant issue raised by the CAG was the high rate of pending validations, with 90% of registrations left unverified.
The report also found financial inconsistencies. “A total of 373 beneficiaries were registered without verification of appropriate authorities and benefits of Rs 28.22 lakh have already been extended to the unverified beneficiaries,” it noted. An additional Rs 46.98 lakh was given to 572 ineligible beneficiaries. Furthermore, there was an unexplained excess disbursement of Rs 95 lakh from Public Financial Management System (PFMS) linked scheme accounts.
According to the CAG, the state project monitoring unit did not carry out any activity and fell short in undertaking the mandatory ‘five per cent physical verification,’ as per the guidelines of the scheme.
To address these issues, the CAG has made several recommendations. It urged the state government to develop a proper mechanism for identifying eligible beneficiaries and to strengthen the verification process. The report also advised the state-level project monitoring unit to play a more active role in overseeing the scheme and ensuring that the mandatory physical verifications are completed on time.
The findings underline the urgent need for Arunachal Pradesh to take corrective measures to ensure that the PM-KISAN scheme effectively reaches its intended beneficiaries.