Govt recovers ₹335 crore availed of fraudulently under PM Kisan, Lok Sabha told
Union minister Bhagirath Chaudhary told the Lok Sabha ₹3.46 lakh crore has been disbursed under PM-KISAN in 18 instalments
NEW DELHI: The government has recovered a total of ₹335 crore from non-farmers and ineligible farmers, who availed cash benefits under the PM-Kisan programme after a largescale vetting of beneficiary data, Parliament was told on Wednesday.
Under PM-KISAN, the government provides income support of ₹6,000 a year to farmers with a valid enrolment, paid in three equal cash transfers of ₹2,000 — one every four months. It was launched on 24 February, 2019, when the first instalment was paid.
Identification of beneficiaries is the responsibility of state governments as per the scheme’s guidelines. Any land-owning farming household can enrol itself subject to exclusions, such as income ceilings, income-tax payers, government employees, elected representatives and anybody with a monthly pension of ₹10,000 or more.
“Maintaining absolute transparency in registering and verifying beneficiaries, the Government of India has disbursed over ₹3.46 lakh crore in 18 instalments, so far,” Union minister of state for agriculture Bhagirath Chaudhary said in his written reply in Lok Sabha.
The scheme initially started on a trust-based system, where beneficiaries were registered by the states on a self-certification basis, the reply said.
The linking of Aadhaar, the 12-digit biometric, with farmers’ accounts was also relaxed for some states. Later, several technological interventions were introduced, including integration with public financial management systems, land records and income tax data to identify ineligible persons. Further, land seeding was made mandatory along with Aadhaar-based payment and e-KYC.
This led to a recovery of ₹335 crore, the minister said. The recoveries were made by various state governments with the collaboration of the Centre.
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