Fewer than 30L farmers on board, many taking benefits illegally
There are an estimated 2.60 crore farmers in UP; 2.30 crore yet to meet May 31 deadline
LUCKNOW: Less than 30 lakh of around 2.60 crore Uttar Pradesh farmers have completed the process to register under the PM-Kisan so far, even though a large number of farmers are taking benefit despite they being not eligible, agriculture department officials said.
As reported by Hindustan Times in September last year, the Centre has identified (till the end of October, 2021) 7.23 lakh farmers in UP as having received cash benefits under the PM-Kisan despite them being income-tax payees or being ineligible otherwise. The number of such farmers identified in the whole country was estimated to be 42.73 lakh and recovery is proposed from all of them.
An agriculture department official said that during verification it had been found that in many instances in the state, both husband and wife had registered themselves separately for the benefits under the PM-Kisan. “This is not permissible under the guidelines. The ineligible beneficiaries will be detected and removed once they complete the e-KYC,” he said.
The Central government has made it mandatory for farmers to register under the PM-Kisan and to complete their e-KYC verification to get benefits under the scheme.
“Farmers registered under the PM-Kisan scheme must get their e-KYC done before May 31, 2022, failing which they will not get the instalment under the scheme,” another official said, requesting anonymity.
He said that despite the fact that the agriculture department had launched a state-wide drive asking farmers to complete their e-KYC, it is an uphill task, going by the fact that only 28 lakh of 2.60 crore farmers registered under the PM-Kisan had completed the e-KYC till last month.
“The idea behind the e-KYC is to ensure that only farmers eligible under the scheme get benefits,” he pointed out.
Earlier, the government allowed farmers to do Aadharbased eKYC through OTP authentication on the PM-Kisan portal till March 31, 2022. The government has now suspended this option, asking farmers to complete the process offline by visiting the nearest common service centres (CSCs) for biometric authentication and fixed May 31, 2022, as the last date.
“A majority of farmers in UP would have been deprived of the 11th instalment that may be released any day this month, had the government not extended the deadline for e-KYC completion,” the official pointed out.
Under the PM-Kisan launched in 2019, eligible farmers regardless of the size of their landholdings get an annual financial support of Rs 6,000 in three equal instalments of Rs 2000 each every four months.