7L farmers bereft of financial aid under PM-Kisan scheme
Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 29
Over seven lakh farmers in Punjab are bereft of the financial assistance provided under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) Yojana. This is because the state government is still trying to figure out the process to verify those who have self-registered for this assistance are genuine land-owning farmers.
Till date, over 24 lakh farmers in the state have registered to get the minimum income support from the Government of India under the scheme. While the 17.50 lakh farmers, who had signed up for the scheme through the cooperative societies have been getting the benefit and have received seven instalments of the assistance (Rs 2,000 in each one), the remaining seven lakh are still waiting to avail the benefit.
The scheme provides income assistance of Rs 6,000 per annum to farmers. This assistance is given in three instalments in a year, and registered farmers have already received seven. Many farmers vent their ire on the state agriculture department for the administrative delay in getting them onboard as beneficiaries under the PM Kisan Nidhi.
Jagmohan Singh Patiala, general secretary, Bhartiya Kisan Union Ekta Dakaunda, said though the minimum income assurance provided under the scheme was a pittance, it was still shocking that lakhs of farmers were denied the help under the central scheme because of administrative/governance issues. “Punjab has a high suicide rate among debt-ridden small and marginal farmers. If provided an assured financial assistance, this section of farmers could be prevented from taking any extreme step,” he said.
Officials in the state Agriculture Department said they were trying to integrate the details of the seven lakh self-registered applicants under the scheme with their land records. They said those farmers who had registered through the cooperative societies have received seven instalments, and the eighth was expected to be released to them by the GoI soon.
Director Agriculture Punjab, Sukhdev Singh Sidhu said the department was trying to put in place a system for the integration of details given by applicants with their land records. “A meeting for finalising the same has been scheduled in the next 10 days. Once this integration is done, patwaris will just have to verify and the eligible beneficiaries will be enrolled,” he said.
