Odisha CM transfers Rs 1,272 cr to farmers' accounts

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday transferred Rs 1,272 crore to the bank accounts of more than 53 lakh farmers in the state, under his governments Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and IncomeAugmentation (KALIA) scheme.

The chief minister, after talking to several farmers and enquiring about their activities over a video conference,said various schemes have been floated by his government tostrengthen the infrastructure necessary for sellingagricultural produce.

The KALIA scheme, launched in 2019 to support small,marginal and landless farmers, has earned accolades fromvarious quarters across the nation, the CM said.

The programme covers about 92 per cent of the state'scultivators and almost all landless farmers.

''I want to see that Odisha farmers leading aprosperous life,'' Patnaik said, adding that his governmenthas, on several occasions, requested the Centre to double theMinimum Support Price (MSP) of food grains.