Chennai, Irregularities to the tune of Rs 110 crore have taken place in PM-Kisan scheme in more than 13 districts
of which Rs 32 crores have been recovered so far, Tamil Nadu Agriculture Department Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi said on Tuesday.Talking to reporters here, he said nearly five lakh people were found to be involved in the scam, the inquiries conducted by the Agriculture department officials has revealed.A total of 18 people were arrested and the CB-CID wing of the state police is probing the scam. Inquiries revealed that irregularities to the tune of Rs 110 crore
have taken place and so far Rs 32 crore have been recovered after freezing the bank accounts of the fraudsters.He said more than 80 people, including officials, were placed under suspension so far and disciplinary action has been taken against 34 officials.The scam has occurred in more than 13 districts and there were large scale irregularities in the districts of Kancheepuram and Kallakurichi, Mr Bedi said.Stating that the government was firm that not even a single
genuine farmer should be affected, he said the district collectors have been empowered to recover the money from the fraudsters directly from the banks after freezing their accounts.Asserting that the entire amount would be recovered within one month, he said all those involved in the scam and those who abetted it would be arrested and stringent action would be taken against them.Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said some people have misused the benefits under the PM-Kisan scheme and action was being taken against those people and the amount has been
recovered from them. Under the small farmers having less than two hectare of land were given Rs 6,000 per year as assistance.In several districts several ineligible people have availed the cash assistance by producing false information.Opposition DMK President M K Stalin demanded a CBI probe into it and the BJP State Unit petitioned all the district collectors demanding a detailed probe into the scam.