Five revenue department officials suspended in UP over bribe in farm loan waiver

Uttar Pradesh government has suspended five revenue department employees for seeking bribe for the farm loan waiver scheme launched by it. [caption id=“attachment_3945213” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] Acting on reports claiming that state revenue officials (lekhpal) were seeking bribe for verification of loans in two districts, the four employees were suspended in Gonda while a trainee lekhpal was suspended in Mathura on Friday, a senior official said. An FIR has been lodged against four lekhpals and a fair price shop owner in Gonda, he said. Action in Gonda was taken on the basis of a complaint, he added. In the past, farmers in the state had suffered because of successive drought and hailstorm. On Thursday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had launched the “Rin Mochan Yojna” (loan waiver scheme) with distribution of certificates here. Loan waiver of farmers was promised by the BJP in its assembly election manifesto. The Yogi Adityanath cabinet decided to float Kisan Rahat Bonds for raising Rs 36,359 crore required for waiving off the loans as the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act mandates that no state can allow its fiscal deficit to grow beyond three per cent of its GDP.