PM Kisan Samman Nidhi: 10 lakh farmers in U.P. under scanner for eligibility
Over 10 lakh farmers are already found receiving aid in violation of the norms and are asked to return the money.
LUCKNOW: Ten lakh farmers in Uttar Pradesh are currently under scrutiny to verify their eligibility for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. The state government has launched a significant drive to confirm the authenticity of these farmers’ claims.
Meanwhile, a number of farmers have already voluntarily returned the funds they previously received upon realizing that they did not meet the eligibility criteria.
This state-wide random verification follows the Centre’s directive to the Uttar Pradesh government to cross-check the eligibility of farmers against the scheme’s criteria. Many farmers in the state are believed to be availing themselves of the scheme despite being financially well-off.
“The Central government has provided random data on 10 lakh farmers in Uttar Pradesh, asking us to cross-check their eligibility against the scheme’s criteria to ensure that only genuine beneficiaries receive monetary benefits under the scheme,” said VK Sisodiya, additional director of agriculture department.
Under the PM-Kisan scheme launched in February 2019, eligible farmers, regardless of the size of their landholdings, receive annual financial support of ₹6,000 in three equal instalments of ₹2,000 every four months. The money is transferred directly to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts.
Farmers who are serving or retired government employees, have a higher economic status, or pay income tax, among other criteria, are not eligible to register for and receive benefits under this scheme.
Over 10 lakh farmers are believed to have already been found receiving financial support in violation of the norms and are being asked to return the amounts credited to their bank accounts.
A total of 2.9 crore farmers received the 17th installment released by the Centre before the Lok Sabha elections. The number of farmers registered under the scheme has now increased to 2.14 crore, who are expected to claim the 18th installment of ₹2,000 around Diwali.
“Since the launch of the scheme, over ₹74,277 crore has been disbursed to farmers in the state,” Sisodiya said. The number of beneficiaries is continuously rising due to new applications and the completion of pending verifications, such as Aadhar validation and e-KYC, he said.
“Currently, more than 96,000 fresh applications for registration under the PM-Kisan Nidhi scheme are pending with us,” he added.
In a noteworthy development, 29,000 farmers across the state have voluntarily returned the funds they received from the scheme after discovering they were ineligible, either due to filing income tax returns or failing to meet other eligibility criteria.
“We have received ₹29 crore from these 29,000 ineligible farmers who chose to return the funds they had previously received under the scheme,” the official disclosed.