New milestone: About 3L farmers enroll in Krishak Bandhu scheme

Kolkata: Around 3 lakh farmers have so far got enrolled under the Krishak Bandhu scheme only through the country's biggest outreach drive Duare Sarkar.

"Since its inception at least 53 lakh farmers have been brought under the scheme. Three lakh out of them were successfully enrolled, in a record time, when they turned up at Duare Sarkar camps that began on December 1," said a senior official of the state Agriculture department. The scheme was announced in January 2019 ensuring financial assistance of Rs 5,000 per acre and a grant of Rs 2 lakh to family in case of death of a farmer aged between 18-60 years.

Recently, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced that farmers would get enrolled under the scheme against their self attestation only. With the initiative being taken by her government, the entire 72 lakh farmers are now going to get enrolled under the scheme. The application for enrolment in Krishak Bandhu scheme against self declaration started two days ago at Duare Sarkar camps. When the state is providing assistance to all farmers under Krishak Bandhu scheme, the Centre has claimed that 21 lakh farmers have registered for PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi in central portal. The state government has stated to the Centre that the data of these farmers need to be shared for verification. It is claimed that the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar wrote to the Chief Minister urging to engage a nodal officer with whom the password of the central portal would be shared for verification. A senior state government official stated that they are yet to receive the same.

Comparing the farmers' welfare scheme of the Centre with that of the state, Trinamool

Congress leadership stated that no death benefit is provided to farmers under the Centre's scheme and again only Rs 1,214 per acre is given to farmers.