COIMBATORE: By now, we are accustomed to government records and processes being marred by errors and delays. Disbursement of drought relief is no different. The latest charges to crop up in this assignment is that the relief amount has not reached many farmers due to mistakes in their bank account details. In Coimbatore North taluk alone, the number of affected farmers stands at 763.
Sivakumar, Tahsildar of Coimbatore North taluk, states that it was when they were almost done with the relief distribution that they came to know that money sent to those 763 farmers had returned. Assuring that they are making great efforts to track down the accurate details of those farmers’ bank accounts, Sivakumar said that the fund would be transferred soon.
Members of Farmers Association (non-political) claim that the problem has cropped out across the district. According to them, less than 40 per cent of farmers in the district have received the relief money. They also accuse the Revenue department for lack of transparency in the process.
VS Kaliswami, state executive committee member of the association, said that while most farmers, including him, were awaiting the fund, they were not being provided with any details about the disbursement.
However, District Revenue Officer Durai Ravichandran’s account does not agree with this version. Claiming that money for only 300 farmers in the district was returned due to inaccurate bank account details, he also maintained that relief distribution was nearly complete.