Government Allocates Rs 1,364 Crore to Over 20 Lakh Ineligible Beneficiaries in PM-KISAN Scheme

Startling revelations from the Union Agriculture Ministry, in response to an RTI query, have exposed the disbursement of Rs 1,364 crore to over 20 lakh undeserving recipients under the PM-KISAN scheme. Launched by the Central government in 2019, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sammann Nidhi (PM-KISAN) aims to provide an annual income support of Rs 6,000 to small and marginal farmer families with land holdings of up to 2 hectares.

The Agriculture Ministry’s response categorized the undeserving beneficiaries into two groups: “ineligible farmers” and “income tax payee farmers”.

According to Venkatesh Nayak from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), who obtained the data through RTI, a staggering 55.58% of these undeserving individuals fall under the “income tax payee” category, while the remaining 44.41% are labeled as “ineligible farmers”.

Nayak also highlighted that since the inception of the PM-KISAN Yojana, Rs 1,364.13 crore has been erroneously distributed to ineligible persons and income tax payee farmers up to July 31, 2020, as per the data obtained under the RTI Act, 2005.

The misallocation of funds is particularly concentrated in five states, with Punjab leading the tally at 23.16%, followed by Assam (16.87%), Maharashtra (13.99%), Gujarat (8.05%), and Uttar Pradesh (8.01%).

It’s worth noting that Sikkim reported the lowest figure, with only one undeserving beneficiary.

The disbursement of Rs 1,364.13 crore was spread across the states in 68.20 lakh installments, with 49.25 lakh installments directed to income tax payee farmers and 18.95 lakh installments to ineligible farmers.

Despite exclusion criteria targeting individuals with higher income status, the scheme’s implementation has been marred by misallocation, raising concerns over its efficacy and transparency.