Over 81,000 farmers in Bihar have been deemed ineligible for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme. These farmers were found to be ineligible for the scheme on account of paying income tax and other reasons, a senior official said. The PM-Kisan scheme is a central government programme that provides financial assistance of Rs. 6,000 per year to eligible farmers, in three equal instalments of Rs. 2,000 each. The scheme is aimed at providing income support to small and marginal farmers.
The ineligible farmers in Bihar were found to be income tax payees since 2020. The other reasons for ineligibility include being government employees, pensioners, and beneficiaries of other government schemes such as MNREGA.
“After proper scrutiny, a total of 81,595 farmers (45,879 income tax payees since 2020 and 35,716 for other reasons) have been identified as ineligible beneficiaries in Bihar. The state’s agriculture department has asked all the banks concerned to expedite the process of collecting the refund amount worth around Rs 81.6 crore from the farmers,” Alok Ranjan Ghosh, Director (Agriculture), told PTI.
The state government has asked state-owned banks to expedite the process of collecting refunds from the ineligible farmers. The total amount of refund is estimated to be around Rs. 81.6 crore.
The ineligible farmers have been given a grace period of 30 days to return the money. After that, the banks will initiate legal action against them.
The decision to deem these farmers ineligible has been met with mixed reactions. Some farmers have welcomed the decision, saying that it is a fair way to ensure that the benefits of the scheme reach the intended beneficiaries. Others have criticised the decision, saying that it is unfair to penalise farmers who have already received the money.
The state government has said that the decision was taken after careful scrutiny of the records. It has also said that the ineligible farmers will be given an opportunity to appeal the decision.
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