OD-KALIA

Odisha's cooperation

minister S N Patro Saturday said the beneficiaries, who have

enrolled under the KALIA scheme in the first phase, will

receive monetary assistance by January 26.

Patro said around 12.4 lakh small and marginal farmers

who are in transaction with the state government, will get Rs

5,000 each for one crop as per the provision of the Krushak

Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA)

scheme.

The minister said the financial assistance will be

directly deposited in the bank accounts of the beneficiary

farmers.

Patro also informed that the farmers, who are applying

for enrolment in the KALIA Scheme during the extended deadline

till January 15, will be verified by the officials concerned

for authenticity.

After receiving the final list of the new applicants,

the crop assistance money will be disbursed, Patro said.

While January 15 is the last date for submission of

the application for the first phase under KALIA scheme, the

second phase will be from January 25 to February 5.

The date for the third phase will be decided later, he

added.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has directed

the officials to ensure that every eligible farmer is included

in the scheme.

The state government had launched the KALIA scheme on

December 31 last year to expedite growth in the agriculture

sector and reduce poverty.

The chief minister, who refused to go for farm loan

waiver in the state, had claimed that KALIA scheme will cover

92 per cent of the cultivators, loanee as well as non-loanee

farmers, share croppers (actual cultivators) and landless

agricultural labourers.

While the small and marginal farmers will get Rs

10,000 per annum as financial assistance for input cost for

cultivation (Rs 5,000 for kharif crop and another Rs 5,000 for

Rabi crop), the landless farmers would get Rs 12,500 for

agricultural allied activities such as goat farming, poultry

farming, duckery, beekeeping, mushroom cultivation and so on.

Similarly, the vulnerable cultivators or landless

agricultural labourers will get financial assistance of Rs

10,000 per family per year to enable them to take care of

their sustenance.

The cultivator or landless agricultural labourers who

are very old, having disability or disease and are vulnerable

for any other reason will benefit from the scheme.

Five lakh families will be covered every year.

This apart, KALIA scheme also has provision of Life

Insurance Support to cultivators and Landless agricultural

labourers and interest free crop loan component meant for all

category of beneficiary.