Bhubaneswar: Keeping his promises to the millions of poor farmers of the state made on the eve of the General Elections 2019, the chief minister Naveen Patnaik Friday enhanced the number of the beneficiaries of Kalia(Kurshak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) Scheme by 32.34 lakh to accommodate another 7.65 lakh small and marginal farmers and 24.84 lakh share croppers and landless farm labourers. For this an additional fund provision of Rs 3,234 crore was made in the state budget.
“It has been now decided that a further additional 32.34 lakh (7.5 lakh + 24.84 lakh) small farmers/marginal farmers/actual cultivators (share croppers/landless agricultural households be included in the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme during 2019-20, apart from the farm families already assisted in 2018-19, so that no one who is eligible will be left out, ” says a Gazette notification published recently. The notifications adds, “The funds required for 2019-20 is estimated to be Rs 3234 crore excluding the administrative cost for the 32.34 lakh farmers/landless agricultural households, in addition to the funds already approved for the existing beneficiaries under KALIA scheme.”
“Thus a total of 75 lakh farm families will be included in the KALIA scheme so that no one who is eligible will be left out. Out of this 50 lakh will be small farmers/marginal farmers/actual cultivators (share croppers) and the balance 25 lakh will be landless agricultural households, which could be modified between the categories by the Government subject to the overall target under these two components for the 75 lakh farm families,” said the Gazette notification.
The chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, during his elections campaign has asserted that not a single deserving farmers would be deprived of the Kalia Scheme. He had promised that the government would transfer the Kalia money of the left out farmers on the first day of his government on coming to power. Keeping his promise, the chief minister in his first cabinet meeting on 29th May, 2019 get the proposal of expansion of Kalia scheme approved.
