State Cabinet today approved a hike in the assistance given to farmers under the “Krishak Bandhu” scheme. The assistance to farmers with one or more acres of landholding has been raised from Rs 5,000 per annum to Rs 10,000 per annum and from Rs 2,000 per annum to Rs 4,000 for farmers with less than one acre of land.
The decision comes a day after Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait called upon chief minister Mamata Banerjee and said that West Bengal should work as a model state while urging to provide more benefits to the farmers.
According to sources, state wants to focus “Krishak Bandhu” scheme as an important and beneficial farmers’ scheme that can act as a model for all states.
“In 2018, the West Bengal government had started the Krishak Bandhu scheme that went on to become a popular scheme for the entire country. After this in 2019, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi was launched. Comparatively, the state’s programme is better because it offers more benefits to farmers. Moreover, unlike the central scheme, the Krishak Bandhu scheme provides assistance to farmers holding less than one acre land. Plans are afoot to add incentives to this scheme in the near future,” said an official.
Miss Banerjee has already increased allotment for this scheme in the budget.