Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Tuesday launched 'Krishak Unnati Yojna' to provide input assistance to farmers and released Rs 13,320 crore to 24.72 lakh cultivators. The scheme was launched at a function at Saryu Prasad Agrawal stadium in Balod district. Speaking on the occasion, Sai said another guarantee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been fulfilled with the launch of this scheme.
Input assistance worth Rs 13,320 crore was transferred to the bank accounts of 24.75 lakh farmers under the Krishak Unnati Yojana, he said. Of these cultivators, 24.72 lakh sold paddy this year in the kharif marketing season 2023-24 at minimum support price, and they were paid the difference amount of Rs 13,289 crore, the chief minister said.
Similarly, more than Rs 31 crore was paid to 2,829 farmers producing paddy seeds through the seed corporation, he said. "The state government fulfilled its promise to farmers, by disbursing pending paddy bonus of two years (2014-15 and 2015-16) worth Rs 3,716 crore to them on Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji's birthday in December last year. More than 13 lakh farmers benefited from this," he said.
Sai said Prime Minister Modi had given a guarantee to launch the 'Mahtari Vandan Yojana' for women, and on March 10, he virtually transferred Rs 655 crore to the bank accounts of more than 70 lakh (married) women in the state. "The prime minister had promised forest dwellers that remuneration for tend leaf collection would be hiked from Rs 4,000 per sack to Rs 5,500 per sack. This scheme will also be launched on Tuesday," he said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, who attended the launch in Rajnandgaon, was also virtually linked to the main programme in Balod. Addressing the function, he said the country is witnessing all-round development under the leadership of PM Modi. "The development of Chhattisgarh will now take place at jet speed. In just three months of the formation of the new government, development works have progressed a lot in the state. It seems like it is raining money in Chhattisgarh," Yadav said. Notably, the BJP had promised to procure paddy at Rs 3,100 per quintal from farmers during the assembly polls last year.
The paddy procurement for the Kharif season took place between November 1 and February 4, and around 145 lakh metric tonnes of paddy was procured from more than 24 lakh farmers at the minimum support price (MSP). The MSP for common grade paddy was Rs 2,183 per quintal and Rs 2,203 for Grade A paddy. According to officials, the difference amount over the MSP was given to farmers as input assistance at Rs 917 per quintal paddy under the Krishak Unnati Yojna. The programme to disburse the assistance was held in every district and development block headquarters, they said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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