The state government has spent Rs 500 crore for providing financial assistance to 37 lakh farmers under the Krishak Bandhu scheme, which was launched eight months ago to address farm distress. “In order to ensure income of the farmers, we have spent Rs 478 crore and disbursed Rs 23 crore to the family members of farmers after their death. Thus, we have spent a total of Rs 500 crore and will spend more as and when we receive further applications,” said state agriculture minister Ashish Banerjee.
The scheme has received good feedback and a total of 35,74,445 farmers received aid amounting to a total of Rs 478.37 crore under the scheme’s ‘assured income’ initiative till 9 September. The state government has received 40,22,354 applications for the scheme’s assured income segment till now. Under the assured income initiative of the scheme, the government provides an annual support of Rs 5,000 to farmers possessing one acre of land. The aid is given in two instalments. The first one was given in Kharif season and the second in Rabi season.
Apart from the assured income, the scheme provides aid as part of death benefit. Under death benefit, the state government disbursed Rs 23.46 crore to the family members of 1,173 farmers. A total of 2,245 applications were received under this section. Under death benefit initiative, the state provides a onetime grant of Rs 2 lakh to the family of a farmer, aged 18 to 60 years, in case of their death. On 31 December, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had announced the Krishak Bandhu scheme, which is a financial assistance initiative to address distress sale.
For the agricultural sector, the state government in its annual budget made a budgetary allocation of Rs 6,086 crore for 2019-20 against Rs 2,766 crore in 2018-19, a 120 per cent increase. The scheme was rolled out on 15 February and Rs 1,000 crore was allocated for the purpose.