A yr after it got 16-cr as relief for farmers, Karnataka says not a single paisa spent

When the scheme was floated by the Centre last August after 71 farmers committed suicide in Karnataka alone, the state had promised that it would achieve the year’s target at a lower spending of Rs 15.575 crore.

But in January, the state cabinet handed over relief implementation to Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) whose chairman, Energy Minister H D Revanna, is the brother of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

This transfer was done despite the Centre clearly identifying Karnataka Livestock Development Agency as the implementing agency. State dairy federations, which are cooperatives and not state agencies, were to be involved only in setting up milk chilling plants.

The reason given by the state’s Animal Husbandry & Fisheries Department for handing over the relief programme to KMF was that the latter had “existing infrastructure and also marketing facilities available to the beneficiaries under the programme”.

But five months later, KMF confessed to the department that there was “very little time to identify the beneficiaries and get approval from district committees and for purchase of animals before March 2007”.

“However, beneficiaries have been identified and bank loan arrangement for purchase of animals is being made. All efforts are being made for achieving the targets of 2006-07 and 2007-08 by the end of March 2008,” KMF said on May 18 this year.