On the occasion of the launch of the PM-KISAN Mobile App, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar rued the fact that due to West Bengal Chief Minister,Mamta Banerjee’s stubbornness farmers of the state are being denied their due.
Pointing out that the West Bengal Government has not verified the farmers’ data from state, Tomar appealed to the Chief Minister to expedite the process.
An estimated 70 lakh farmers of the State are eligible, of whom about 10 lakh farmers have applied individually online, but the entire database has to be verified by the State Government, underlined Tomar.
Eligible farmers from the state can avail Rs.4,000 crore of benefits under the PM-KISAN Scheme once the State Government furnishes the data, he added.
The Union Minister was speaking on the occasion of 1st Anniversary of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) in Delhi where he vowed to fulfil the dream of PM doubling farmers’ income. The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme is comprehensive, ambitious and will help boost farmers’ income, he said.
Tomar said a budget of Rs.75,000 crore has been provided in the current Financial Year for the PM-KISAN scheme under which a total sum of Rs.6,000 each is being provided to farmers annually. More than Rs.50,850 crore has already been released, he added.
More than 8.46 crore farmer families have been given the PM-KISAN benefits so far while the total number of beneficiaries to be covered under the scheme is about 14 crore. The Government aims to cover 12 lakh farmers by the end of this Financial Year.
Besides the Common Service Centres (CSCs), the Ministry has launched online procedure for farmers’ enrolment, he added.
Tomar said the Prime Minister has declared that all KISAN beneficiaries will be given the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) so that farmers can take easy loans from the banks. The Government has included Animal Husbandry and Fisheries sectors within the ambit of the KCC Scheme.
He said a massive distribution drive will be held on 29th February during which KCCs will be issued to farmers at 20,000 bank branches spread across the country. The Prime Minister will himself disburse KISAN benefits to a select few farmers and distribute KCC cards at the main function at Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh on this day.
10,000 new Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) are being registered and each will get a support of Rs 15 lakh from the government to promote agriculture.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, Shri Sanjay Agarwal, said the Department will finalise by June, 2020 a comprehensive farmers’ database covering major schemes like the Soil Health Card, PM-KISAN and KCC.
