MillenniumPost
Bengal

Mamata initiates transfer of funds worth Rs 2,200 cr to 76L farmers

Mamata initiates transfer of funds worth Rs 2,200 cr to 76L farmers
X

MALDA: Krishak Bandhu (new) scheme comes up as the biggest beneficiary scheme for farmers in the country with transfer of highest amount of cash to farmers under any such scheme.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday initiated the transfer of benefits worth Rs 2,200 crore to 76 lakh farmers under the country's biggest scheme, Krishak Bandhu (new), in the agriculture sector.

This time, 14 lakh more beneficiaries compared to that of the last Kharif season (in June 2021) are getting the benefit. It took the total number of beneficiaries under the scheme to 76 lakh and total amount of benefits to Rs 2200 crore. As a result, it came up as the country's biggest beneficiary scheme for farmers with transfer of the highest amount of cash to farmers under any such scheme in India.

The Chief Minister initiated the direct benefit transfer of the financial assistance for rabi season from the administrative review meeting in Malda.

A total of Rs 2200 crore has been transferred to bank accounts of 76 lakh farmers enrolled under Krishak Bandhu scheme. The 14 lakh new beneficiaries had enrolled their names in the scheme through the Duare Sarkar camps held from August 16 to September 15.

Ahead of the last Kharif season (in June 2021), around 63 lakh farmers had received the benefits under the Krishak Bandhu scheme and the total amount of benefit that was directly transferred to the bank accounts of the farmers was Rs 1,834 crore.

The Mamata Banerjee government had launched the Krishak Bandhu (new) scheme on June 17, within a month of forming the government for the third consecutive term, ensuring the farmers now to receive an increased financial support from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 for one acre or more of cultivable land and those having less than one acre receive a minimum of Rs 4,000 per annum in two phases. Earlier, a farmer used to get Rs 6,000 maximum annually under the scheme.

Beneficiaries of the Krishak Bandhu (death benefit) scheme have also received their benefits. In case of death of a farmer within the age group of 18-60 years, the bereaved family members get an assistance of Rs 2 lakh. It gets directly transferred to the bank account of next of kins. Around 35000 bereaved farmer families had received the financial assistance of Rs 700 crore so far since 2019 when the scheme was launched.

Krishak Bandhu covers all farmers and even sharecroppers instead of excluding any farmer unlike Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), which deprives sharecroppers and a section of farmers.

Krishak Bandhu (new) transfers the highest amount of cash to farmers under any such scheme in the country, a senior officer said.

Next Story
Share it