The Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam has urged the Centre not to insist on eKYC procedure for farmers to receive the 11th instalment of financial aid under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme.
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The Centre has made eKYC mandatory for the farmers to get the 11th instalment of the scheme, under which beneficiaries are provided ₹6,000 a year. “Many farmers are confused about the new procedure. We request the Centre to continue the earlier system of providing assistance to farmers,” the association said in a resolution adopted at the executive committee meeting of its Perambalur district unit held recently.
Expressing concern over the continuing fall in the price of small onions, the association has urged the government to fix the minimum procurement price of the bulbs at ₹30 a kg. The government should also procure the bulbs through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) for distribution to consumers.
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The meeting has also urged the government to ensure continuous procurement of paddy at direct purchase centres. The Centre must also restructure the Prime Minister’s Crop Insurance Scheme to provide compensation for crop damage sustained by individual farmers.
Through other resolutions, the association has urged the government to ensure disbursement of arrears and incentive due to sugarcane suppliers from sugar factories for the 2020-21 crushing season; implement the Cauvery (Mettur Dam)-Sarabanga-Thirumanimuthar-Ayyar canal link scheme and remove encroachments from all irrigation tanks, canals and ponds impartially.
The meeting, chaired by R .Raja Chidambaram, State secretary of the association, has resolved to ensure largescale participation of farmers from Perambalur and Ariyalur districts in the rally planned in Tiruchi on July 5 to pay homage to martyrs who lost their lives in farmers’ struggles.