The whole purpose of providing a subsidy is to defray the input cost and make the product commercially viable. Subsidies are used by the agriculture department to
push growth in a particular area and support farmers. Subsidies work provided the beneficiary also puts in some money. However, the State agriculture department has taken subsidies to a whole new level. It has turned them into doles. Through a sleigh of hand the agriculture department has combined a central and State scheme to provide 100 per cent subsidy to farmers producing exotic flowers and vegetables for which
there is a ready market. The department spent Rs 32 crore in this fashion in violation of all norms. This lapse was ferreted
out by auditors who slammed the department for providing
100 per cent subsidy. In doing so, the department has violated
the basic principle underlining subsidies. It has turned subsidies
into a shady deal because under the present circumstance
farmers can easily hike the initial cost and depart with
the money. In one case a farmer was provided Rs 70 lakh, the
audit report noted. A thorough inquiry is required into this sordid
episode.
