PM-KISAN : First instalment reaches just 23 pc
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, June 01 2019:
Out of the total 31,744 beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sam-manNidhi (PM-KISAN), first instalment of monetary assistance has reached just 7271 farmers (22.9 per cent) so far.
However, farmer beneficiaries of neighbouring Nagaland and Tripura have already started receiving the second instalment.
PM-KISAN was launched in the country to provide certain monetary assistance to farmers whose landholdings are marginal and the scheme is sponsored 100 per cent by the Central Government.
Under PM-KISAN, the Government would provide monetary assistance of Rs 6000 to farmers whose landholdings are two hectares or lesser in three instalments at the rate of Rs 2000 every four months.
The sum of Rs 2000 should be transferred to the bank accounts of beneficiaries.
The Government of India earmarked Rs 20,000 crore for the scheme in the Union Budget of 2018-19 .
For the financial year 2019-20, the amount earmarked for PM-KISAN has been increased to Rs 75,000 crore.
The scheme seeks to cover 12.50 crore farmers of the country.
The beneficiaries are selected based on the Agricultural Census of 2015-16 .
The scheme was launched in the State in presence of the Chief Minister at a function held at Sati Khongnang, Bengoon on February 24 this year.
The first instalment covers the months of December, 2018 to March 2019 .
Out of 3,34,17,079 farmers enrolled under the scheme, the first instalment of Rs 2000 has been delivered to 3,03,86,309 farmers across the country, informed a source.
However, in Manipur, only 22.9 per cent beneficiaries have been delivered the first instalment as per reports collected till May 31 .
On the other hand, the first instalment has been already delivered to maximum number of beneficiaries in the neighbouring States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
It is not yet Clear when the first instalment would be paid to the remaining 24,473 beneficiaries of the State and when the second instalment would be delivered, conveyed the source.
A peculiar situation of Manipur is that farmers in the hills do not have land in their names.
Respective village authorities must certify that farmers in their villages have agricultural lands.
These certificates given by village authorities must be authenticated by concerned SDOs.
It is said that Revenue Department is the nodal department of PM-KISAN in the State.