Aadhaar stands in way of farmers awaiting flood relief

More than one lakh farmers who suffered crop loss during the August floods are awaiting compensation as authorities are yet to verify Aadhaar seeding with beneficiary bank accounts.

Officials said the delay in verifying Aadhaar-seeding status was common while disbursing relief “as many farmers are receiving relief for the first time”.

In all, 4.5 lakh farmers suffered crop losses in the devastating floods that affected 22 of the 30 districts in the state. Under pressure from farmers, officials have initiated the process of Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS) verification. According to Kodihalli Chandrashekar, president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, several farmers were awaiting compensation for damage caused due to floods.

“We have raised concerns with the chief minister about the delay in relief and how compensation as per the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) was inadequate,” he said. The government has decided to give farmers Rs 10,000 per hectare in addition to NDRF norms.

Rain-fed land will get Rs 16,800 per hectare, horticulture crops Rs 23,500 and irrigated crops Rs 28,000.

Data on the total amount paid for crop loss under Parihara shows that Rs 511.28 crore was transferred to 2.54 lakh of the 4.59 lakh beneficiaries. Of the total, relief was rejected for 32,398.

Among the beneficiaries identified, 1,00,220 farmers — more than half of whom (59,200) were in Belagavi district — were yet to be compensated owing to pending verification of Aadhaar-seeding status with their bank accounts. According to a Revenue Department official, complaints of delay in compensation and AePS verification were perennial in nature.

“One of the main reasons for the delay was multiple accounts held by farmers. Authorities are not sure about the account to which benefits are to be transferred. Apart from that, many beneficiaries were receiving relief for the first time, due to which AePS had to be tested, resulting in a minor delay,” the official said.

All complaints are taken up on a case-by-case basis so that benefits reach the victims, the official said.

V Thrilok Chandra, managing director, State Disaster Management Authority, said that AePS verification of beneficiary accounts by transferring Rs 1 each will be completed in a couple of days.

“After that, relief will be immediately transferred to them,” he said, adding that the authorities were simultaneously offering relief for crop loss due to drought in the previous Rabi season.

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Total farmers: 5,16,532
Total farmers verified and approved for compensation by VA: 4,59,764
Total farmers verified and approved for compensation by VA and tahsildar: 2,54,978
Aadhaar seeding status not verified: 1,00,220

Total beneficiaries (as on Nov 8): 2,54,978
Total compensation paid: Rs 511.28 cr