Ahead of PM-Kisan launch, Patnaik urges Modi to include landless farmers

A day before the launch of PM-Kisan farmers' scheme, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to include sharecroppers and landless farmers in the central scheme. The Rs 75,000 crore Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, that aims to provide financial assistance to the small and marginal farmers across the country, is scheduled to be launched by Modi on Sunday.

"I would earnestly request you to kindly consider enhancing the scale of assistance to at least Rs 10,000 per annum per family and also include landless agricultural labourers, sharecroppers and vulnerable agricultural households under the PM-Kisan scheme," Patnaik said in a letter addressed to Modi. This was Patnaik's second letter to the prime minister where he has batted for the sharecroppers, landless farmers and farmers in distress.

Patnaik, on February 11, had written a similar letter to the prime minister. Under the central scheme, the farmers having five acres of land or less will get Rs 6,000 assistance per annum in three different phases while Odisha's own scheme - KALIA - provides Rs 10,000 per annum.

Noting that the state government's Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) covers all categories of farmers, Patnaik said: "So far, about 30,40 lakh number of agricultural households have been provided cash assistance of Rs Rs 5,000 including about 3.10 lakh number of landless households and 58,000 sharecroppers. We are committed to assisting all eligible beneficiaries under the progressive scheme of ours."