40% dip in Haryana beneficiaries, officials point to stricter checks
OFFICIALS SAY THERE ARE 14 LAKH ELIGIBLE FARMERS; NUMBER HAS DIPPED SINCE VERIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS STARTED
KARNAL: The number of beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM Kisan) scheme in Haryana is coming down with every instalment being paid to farmers since the scheme was launched in February 2019.
As per official figures, there is a decline of around 40% in the number of beneficiaries in state in past two years.
Total 18.93 lakh farmers in state got the first instalment but around 7.44 lakh of them did not get the seventh instalment as it was paid to just 11.48 lakh farmers so far.
The development has raised questions over the scheme which was launched two months before the Lok Sabha elections as the state has over 19.55 lakh farmers who had applied for the scheme and 18.93 lakh of them were given the first instalment.
Officials dealing with the scheme said that as of now there are around 14 lakh eligible farmers of the scheme in state and the number of beneficiaries has gone down following verification of documents.
“The first instalment was paid to over 18.93 lakh farmers in state but after document verification and details of land holding records in state, now there are 14 lakh farmers eligible for the scheme and disbursement of the seventh instalment to many beneficiaries is still pending,” said Jagraj Dandi, joint director (statics) Haryana state agriculture department.
On reasons behind fall in the numbers, a senior officer of the state agriculture department, pleading anonymity, said that the government did not verify the data when the scheme was launched in haste but after verification of family data and land records, linking of aadhaar number with bank accounts and mobile phone numbers, many beneficiaries were found to be ineligible as the scheme is meant for just the owners of agricultural land.
Even government employees, income tax payers and more than one member from one family, who were earlier added in the list of beneficiaries, have been removed.
However, the Haryana officials claimed that there are 14 lakh eligible farmers in state but still 4.93 lakh ineligible farmers were given the first instalment in Haryana two months before the Lok Sabha polls. The number of beneficiaries may come down in state as data of 78,429 beneficiaries is still pending for correction.
The Modi government had introduced the aid scheme on February 1 to ensure income support of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments to all farmers in country with land holding of up to two hectare, but later, the scope of the scheme was expanded to cover all farmers in country, irrespective of the size of land holdings.
As per officials, the Union government also launched a special drive to find out ineligible beneficiaries, who were given the benefits of the scheme and around 32.91 lakh ineligible beneficiaries of the scheme have been identified in the country.