Tough times

Gaya, Aug. 3: The state government’s scheme of providing subsidy on diesel for irrigation has failed to provide any assistance to the farmers because of lack of rain.

During the financial year 2010-11, Rs 7.76 crore was allocated to Gaya for providing the subsidy to the farmers on purchase of diesel for irrigation. But Rs 6.64 crore was returned by March 31, 2011 as the blocks failed to provide the utilisation certificate of Rs 1.12 crore allotted as the first instalment. The amount under subsidy on purchase of diesel scheme for 2011-12 is yet to be allocated for the ongoing kharif season.

The lack of utilisation of the subsidy goes to show the apprehension of drought among farmers. They have sown paddy only on 3.6 per cent of the land across five districts of the Magadh division — Gaya, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Nawada and Arwal. Against the target of 5.11 lakh hectares in these districts, transplantation of paddy seeds have been done only on 18,384 hectares.

Additional district magistrate (ADM) Shoaib Ahmad said the first allotment of Rs 1.12 crore under the subsidy scheme was made available to Gaya in August, 2010, which was immediately sent to the block headquarters. After the second instalment was made available, it could not be allocated to the blocks, as they did not send the utilisation certificate of the first instalment.

According to the scheme, a farmer having revenue receipt of the land plot is provided subsidy on the purchase of 10 litres of diesel for irrigation of each acre of land. A sum of Rs 20 per litre is provided as subsidy to the farmer on production of the receipt of diesel purchase.

A farmer can get the subsidy on the purchase of 10 litres of diesel per acre up to five times during a crop season, including three times during the sowing of paddy seeds, and twice after transplantation of the seedlings so that the standing crops are protected.

“The subsidy amount is sent to the block development officers (BDOs) from the district headquarters. The BDOs provide the amount to the mukhiyas (village heads) of the respective panchayats for disbursement to the farmers on production of the purchase receipt. The details of the utilisation of the subsidy amount are provided to blocks by the mukhiyas, but many of them do not send it on time. Thus, utilisation certificate is produced late by the blocks to the district headquarters,” a BDO told The Telegraph.

Despite the subsidy scheme on the purchase of diesel for irrigation, the farmers have to depend on good rainfall. Lakhan Paswan, a farmer of Chapri village under Fatehpur block in Gaya, told The Telegraph because of scanty rainfall for the past two seasons the underground water level has depleted. “Unless there is good rainfall and the underground water level once again comes up, the diesel pump sets will not be able to fetch water for irrigation,” he said.