RSS News Impact: Contractor returns amount to farmers

Kathmandu - A contractor responsible for supplying the hand tractors to farmers has returned the money he had taken from them as commission. The Rurukshetra rural municipality of Gulmi district had provided the hand tractors to the farmers as subsidised rate and appointed the contractor for supplying the machines to farmers.

Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS), the national news agency, had carried news headlined 'Money being raised from farmers for subsidised tractors' in its news bulletin on Wednesday. The supplier returned the money after this news was carried by the media. The rural municipality had provided the hand tractors to 34 farmers at 50 per cent subsidy as per its programme for the fiscal year 2019/20.

Giridhari Chaudhary, the proprietor of the supplier company, Giridhari Krishi Machinery Suppliers, had illegally collected Rs 51 thousand at the rate of Rs 1,500 per farmer while providing the hand tractors to them. Moreover, the supplier had also not provided any receipt for the extra amount that he charged from farmers.

The locals had informed the media suspecting that the supplier was illegally charging the farmers. Rural municipality chair Neelakantha Gautam has said the supplier has deposited the extra amount he had collected from farmers in the rural municipality's bank account and that they would return the amount to the farmers by coming Sunday.