(a) whether there has been complaints that crores of rupees have been siphoned off from the Government in the name of Krishi Vigyan Kendras, several of them are non-existent that send manipulated audit utilisation reports;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken to check this practice?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE (DR. DEBENDRA PRADHAN)
(a), (b) & (c) There are 261 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK), including 149
under State Agricultural Universities and other educational institutions,
27 under ICAR Institutes, 74 under Non-Government Organizations (NGO) and
the remaining 11 under Public Sector Undertakings and State Governments.
The activities of the KVKs are strictly monitored by 8 Zonal Coordinating
Units on regular basis. Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), including the
representatives of the farmers, development departments, research and
extension agencies has been constituted for each KVK to review the
activities. The funds are released based on the audit utilization
certificates commensurate with performance. Special audit teams are
deployed for verification of records in case of any discrepancy.
Nine Quinquennial Review Teams have also reviewed the functioning of the
KVKs.