Kerala: Communication delay costs farmers 3 months' pension

Thiruvananthapuram: Several farmers across the state were  denied their three-month pension  when the fiscal year ended on Saturday.   The intimation to submit electronic allotment of the farmers’ pension  reached  the offices of many agricultural officers only by 4 p.m. on March 31  though the ministry had  issued the order on March 27. The agricultural officers submit their bills through Bill Information and Management System (BiMS), an e-Bill portal for claim settlements by drawing and disbursing officers (DDOs) who  prepare online contingent bills and e-submit  to the treasury.

But they were told  to submit them  via online and send the hard copies to the respective treasuries. An agricultural officer told DC that they were given time till 8 p.m. on March 31 to do the electronic transfer which was an unhealthy trend.  “The pension of over  3. 6 lakh farmers across the state  has been pending since October  2017. We have only a data entry operator and a clerk at the district level agricultural offices. If they are not familiar with the BiMS and Budget Allocation and Monitoring System (BAMS), an online computerised system to distribute the budget allocation and  authorise expenditure,  the farmers will be left high and dry,”  said the   officer.

But agriculture director A. M. Sunil Kumar told DC that there was a delay to file the electronic allotment after the government sanctioned Rs 71 crore  to meet the farmers’ pension which has been due for  the last few months. He maintained that the agricultural officers were granted time until midnight to sort out the issues.     

Agriculture Minister V. S. Sunil Kumar told DC that the agriculture director will give him  the statistics on the number of farmers who have been denied pension  on Tuesday.  “Once I get the final tally,  it will be re-allotted. Currently farmers in Kollam, Thrissur and Kozhikode have been denied their pension which will be granted on Tuesday itself,”  he  said. Meanwhile, the Congress party will stage a  secretariat picketing on Wednesday highlighting the plight of the farmers.