Ineligible farmers will have to refund money, says Agriculture Minister Atul Bora

PM Kisan Nidhi Scheme

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: State Agriculture Minister Atul Bora told The Sentinel straight out that the ineligible farmers who availed of the benefits under the PM Kisan Nidhi Scheme will have to refund the money.

A farmer gets Rs 6,000 yearly in three equal instalments under the PM Kisan Nidhi Scheme.

Talking to The Sentinel, the Agriculture Minister said, "The Agriculture Department detected the anomalies in the PM Kisan Nidhi Scheme. Following a directive from the then Chief Minister in the previous government, we conducted two inquiries – a departmental inquiry and an Additional Chief Secretary-level inquiry. The two inquiries revealed the inclusion of some ineligible farmers in the list of PM Kisan Nidhi Scheme beneficiaries.

"Assam has many farmers who don't have lands. However, they are farmers in the true sense of the term. I met Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and informed him of this fact. The Union Minister told me that if the State government recognizes the people cultivating lands without having land pattas as farmers, they can avail of the Central government's benefits under the PM Kisan Nidhi Scheme.

"If we recognize people cultivating lands without having land pattas, a section of the ineligible farmers who made it to the list of PM Kisan Nidhi beneficiaries will become eligible. Even then, many in the beneficiary list will continue to have the ineligible tag. We have already appealed to the ineligible farmers in the PM Kisan Nidhi's list of beneficiaries to refund the money that they had availed of. We have asked the deputy commissioners to look into the matter."

Also Read: Rs 404 Crore Sanctioned for State Farmers: Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora

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