Fact-check: Punjab govt earned billions in Green Tractor application fees?
There is no application fee for the Punjab Chief Minister’s Green Tractor Program, as confirmed by government officials and applicants
Updated Tuesday Dec 10 2024
Online users have alleged that the Punjab government’s program to provide tractors at a subsidized cost to farmers has collected billions of rupees solely through application fees.
The claim is false.
Claim
On November 5, a user on X (formerly Twitter) accused the Punjab government of exploiting farmers through its Green Tractor Scheme.
“[The government] is using the tractor scheme to deceive people,” the user wrote. “They are charging Rs5,000 as a fee for the application.”
The post further alleged that 1.6 million farmers had applied for the scheme, resulting in Rs8 billion in application fees, while fewer than 1,000 tractors—between 995 and 997 — had been distributed. The claim has been viewed over 6,000 times, misleading many users.
Similar claims questioned how much the Punjab government was earning from farmers through application fees.
Fact
The claim is false. There is no application fee for the Punjab Chief Minister’s Green Tractor Program, as confirmed by government officials and applicants.
Hafiz Abdul Rehman, the chief technical advisor at the Punjab agriculture department, told Geo Fact Check over the phone that farmers applying for the program face no charges. He explained that the scheme offers a subsidy of Rs1 million per tractor to eligible applicants.
“Over 1.5 million farmers have applied online through the program’s web portal by October 10,” Rehman said. While the government has yet to start the distribution of the tractors, he added. Rehman also shared a screenshot of the online application form.
Additionally, Rehman provided a screenshot of the program’s dashboard showing the application data.
Azma Zahid Bokhari, Punjab’s Information Minister, also dismissed the allegations. “No, there was no charge for anyone applying for the Green Tractor scheme,” she stated. “The government did not collect any revenue from the applications.”
Geo Fact Check reached out to Muhammad Wajahat, a farmer from Khushab district who applied for his father. “I submitted the application online myself,” Wajahat said. “There were no charges. The application was completely free.”
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