Rasulpur: The Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme launched by the state government has proved an impediment to the farmers under the block in Jajpur district in receiving financial assistance under the Centre-sponsored Pradhan Mantri Krushak Yojana, a report said.
The matter came to the fore after over 12,000 farmers under the block, who have not received the second installment under KALIA scheme, were learnt to have been denied of any benefit under the Centre sponsored schemes.
The block officials have not made any formal announcement in this regard but reliable sources claimed these farmers will not be able to receive any financial assistance under Central schemes. This has happened as a list of the farmers eligible for the financial assistance is yet to be submitted before the Centre, sources in the Rasulpur block office said.
Reports said that both the Centre and the state government launched these two schemes ahead of the 2019 elections with an aim to provide financial assistance to the small and marginal farmers. The Union government launched the Pradhan Mantri Kishan Yojana December 1, 2018 with an aim to provide financial assistance of Rs 6,000 to a farmer’s family in three periodic installments in an agricultural year.
Twenty days later, the state government launched the KALIA scheme aimed at welfare of the farmers December 21, 2018. Thousands of farmers registered their names under the KALIA scheme including 54,000 farmers’ families under Rasulpur block just before the election.
The state government later submitted a list of the registered farmers to the Union government. As a result, the farmers’ families started receiving the financial assistance in their bank accounts under both the schemes. The Centre sponsored Jan Dhan accounts opened by the farmers became helpful in receiving the financial assistance.
The state government later realised that many bogus and ineligible beneficiaries have been able to grab the benefits of KALIA scheme as the selection of beneficiaries had been conducted in a hurried manner. It came to knowledge that members of a family had registered under the scheme claiming themselves as separate households.
The state government launched a survey to weed out the bogus and ineligible beneficiaries towards the end of 2019. The state government issued red and green coloured forms for enlistment and delisting of the farmers’ families in every panchayats during the survey.
During the survey, it was found out that not a single beneficiary in all the 28 panchayats under the block has applied in red form. However, the Agriculture department soon realised that many service holders, income tax payee, retired government officials, agri-entrepreneurs and affluent persons have managed to grab the benefits under the KALIA scheme. It was found out that 241 beneficiaries are ineligible for the benefits for which the state Agriculture department issued notices to them for pay back of money.
However, not a single ineligible beneficiary heeded to the notice to pay back the money received under the KALIA scheme. Around, 10,495 eligible beneficiaries from various panchayats under the block applied in the green form.
This apart, members of farmers’ families claiming to be eligible for the benefits are applying online everyday for registration of their names under the scheme. It is estimated that over 12,000 beneficiaries have newly registered themselves under the scheme.
Recently, the farmers received Rs2,000 in their accounts towards the final installment of Pradhan Mantri Krushak Yojana in this current agricultural year. Till today, around 20,656 families have received the money for the second installment under the KALIA scheme. The list has been dispatched to the Centre following which many farmers have been able to receive financial assistance under Pradhan Mantri Krushak Yojana.
However, over 12,000 beneficiaries including old and newly registered farmers have been deprived of the benefits under the scheme as the state government is yet to send the list to the Union government.
They are regularly making rounds of the Janseva Kendra and the agriculture office. They are searching for their names online by typing their Aadhaar card number to realise their names are yet to be sent to the Union government. Many eligible farmers have not been able to register their names as they do not have a smartphone.
As a result, hundreds of real farmers have been deprived of receiving the benefits both from the Centre and state government.
PNN