21L UP farmers ineligible for Kisan Nidhi scheme, recovery underway

Lucknow, Sep 8 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi has said that 21 lakh farmers had been found ineligible to receive benefits under the PM Kisan Nidhi scheme and recovery of the money already transferred to their bank accounts was  now being made as per the rules.

He said, "Among the ineligible are farmers who pay income tax, do not own any land or husband and wife both are taking benefits."

The minister has also appealed to the farmers to get all their land records verified and uploaded on the agriculture department's portal by September 9 to be eligible to get the 12th instalment under the PM-Kisan Nidhi.

He said that the Centre might release the 12th instalment any day but the benefit would be given only to the farmers who would have uploaded their verified land record data on the portal by September 9.

The minister said that the agriculture and revenue departments were verifying work on a war-footing and data of 1.51 crore of 1.62 farmers had already been updated.

"The data of the remaining (around) 11 lakh farmers is being verified," he said.

However, he clarified that the case of those who were left out would be taken up in the next phase but all eligible farmers would get the PM-Kisan Nidhi benefits.

Under the scheme, eligible farmers get a financial support of Rs 6,000 a year in three equal installments.

The minister further said that the department was holding a workshop at a village near Kanpur on September 9, in which farmers doing organic farming in four divisions would participate. "The demo on the use of drones in agriculture will also be made to them in the workshop," he said.

He said that during agriculture seminars before the Kharif season, the department received a lot of suggestions from farmers. "We are sorting out all their issues with the help of the departments concerned," he added.