The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), the national cash-transfer programme for farmers, in Manipur’s Bishnupur district is mired in a controversy after it was found that names of non-existing villagers were enrolled in the list of beneficiaries.
Nodal officer of PM-KISAN, Bishnupur district, Prasanta Oinam in a clarification, however, stated that some beneficiaries who are not residents of Khoijuman Khullen, Khoijuman Khunou and Nachou villages of Bishnupur block were wrongly entered in the list of beneficiaries.
Explaining in detail, the nodal officer stated that inclusion of beneficiaries from other districts/villages was due to the “miss-match of beneficiaries in the web portal as there were similar village names in different districts of our state”.
Oinam also stated that the director of the agriculture department will be requested to remove the names wrongly entered as beneficiaries from the web portal to rectify the list of beneficiaries.
All the beneficiaries of the PM-KISAN scheme will be re-verified as there was a suspicion of “manipulations” while making the list, the nodal officer said.
Sources informed that over three lakh farmers have been enjoying benefits of the PM-KISAN scheme in the state.
It has also been found that another one lakh beneficiaries were registered by the farmers themselves or through common service centres for the same scheme though their applications have not been approved as yet.
In the current case, names of some Pangals (Muslims in Manipur) have been found in the list of PM-KISAN beneficiaries of Khoijuman village in Bishnupur district. The village, however, is predominantly inhabited by Meetei and Kabui communities. As such, there is a strong suspicion of some people committing gross manipulations, said an observer.
In case fake or ineligible beneficiaries are detected in the course of re-verification, their accounts would be deleted immediately and necessary procedure would be initiated to recover the amounts withdrawn through fraudulent means, said another source.
In an effort to address the issue, officials of the agriculture department and staff of the Bishnupur DC have held a meeting on the entry of wrong data in the list of beneficiaries, the nodal officer said.
The officials have also initiated due process to take up necessary action, he added.
Under the PM-KISAN scheme, the beneficiaries are given financial assistance of Rs 6,000 in a year to all farmer families across the country which is released in three phases, three equal installments of Rs.2000/- each every four months. The scheme was launched in 2018 and is fully funded by the Government of India.
It may mentioned that the union agriculture ministry had recently asked the Assam government for a report and a probe into a potential fraud in PM-KISAN, which allowed non-farmers to get cash in the state as authorities halted further payments.
Facts about PM-KISAN Scheme (Official data) | Know all about it
1. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) is a Central Sector scheme fully funded by the Government of India.
2. The Scheme is effective from 1.12.2018.
3. Under the Scheme an income support of Rs.6000/- per year is provided to all farmer families across the country in three equal installments of Rs.2000/- each every four months.
4. Definition of family for the Scheme is husband, wife and minor children.
5. The entire responsibility of identification of beneficiary farmer families rests with the State / UT Governments.
6. The fund is directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
7. Farmers covered under the Exclusion Criteria of the Operational Guidelines are not eligible for the benefit of the Scheme.
8. For enrollment, the farmer is required to approach the local patwari / revenue officer / Nodal Officer (PM-Kisan) nominated by the State Government.
9. The Common Service Centres (CSCs) have also been authorized to do registration of the farmers for the Scheme upon payment of fees.
10. Farmers can also do their self-registration through the Farmers Corner in the portal.
11. Farmers can also edit their names in PM-Kisan database as per their Aadhaar database / card through the Farmers Corner in the portal.
12. Farmers can also know the status of their payment through the Farmers Corner in the portal.
