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Bhubaneswar: Bogus beneficiaries seem to be destroying the purpose of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme in Odisha with thousands of fake claims being reported from across the State. The huge number of such ineligible beneficiaries has reportedly cost the Centre Rs 4.68 crore.
As per reports, the Centre has so far released around Rs 3,274.3388 crore direct cash benefit to nearly 3,719,168 farmers under the PM-KISAN yojana. However, several eligible farmers are yet to receive the benefit of the scheme.
According to the Agriculture Ministry's report on the state-wise details of funds disbursed under PM-KISAN scheme, a total of 8790 ineligible farmers from Odisha have received Rs 4.68 crore under the yojana. However, not a single penny has been collected from those fake beneficiaries yet.
Meanwhile, the BJP and the Congress have launched a scathing attack on the Odisha government over the massive irregularities as the list of eligible beneficiaries for the scheme is usually provided by states (as per the PM-KISAN guidelines).
"The Odisha government has included the ineligible beneficiaries into the PM-KISAN beneficiary list. The government officials, who have made the list of beneficiaries, should be made responsible and the money should be collected from them," said BJP general secretary, Golak Mohapatra adding that no money should be deducted from the bank accounts of farmers.
Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja said, "Due to the inaccurate farmers' list of the State government, the Centre has provided assistance to fake farmers. The Odisha government is solely responsible for this and it must collect the money from those ineligible beneficiaries."
Responding to the allegations, BJD MLA Debi Mishra said that some mistake might have happened during preparation of the list. "The Centre has all the evidence. They can take up the matter at the appropriate forum for rectification. Official of the State government and the Centre will find the list," he said.
As per the data available with the Union Agriculture Ministry for the period August-November, the total PM-KISAN beneficiaries in Odisha stood at over 40.49 lakh, but the payment was made to only around 2.29 lakh beneficiaries. Nearly, 43 per cent beneficiaries in the State didn’t receive the assistance during the period of Aug-Nov in the 2020-21 fiscal.
On the other hand, the Odisha government had launched Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme in 2019, just before the general elections, under which farmers were paid Rs 10,000 in two instalments. However, around 50,000 ineligible beneficiaries have also reportedly received money under the scheme.
