Agriculture officials told to recover money from ineligible farmers

The Department of Agriculture has the task of recovering money paid to hundreds of ineligible farmers under Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi. Under this scheme, launched in December 2018, farmers get ₹6,000 annually in three instalments.

Of the total 55.88 lakh beneficiaries, 85,206 farmers have turned out to be ineligible. In Hassan district alone, 3,872 ineligible farmers have received the payment. Many of them have got six instalments of ₹2,000 each. The Ministry of Agriculture has sent the list of ineligible beneficiaries to the respective districts. The officers have been told to recover the amount paid so far to them.

K.H. Ravi, Joint Director of Agriculture Department in Hassan, told The Hindu that income taxpaying farmers were not eligible for the benefit under the scheme. “Many have registered for the scheme either hiding the fact that they are taxpayers or ignoring the conditions. Now, the Central office has sent us the list of ineligible beneficiaries. The office has instructed us to write to the beneficiaries for the recovery of the amount,” he said.

The amount to be recovered in each district would run into several lakhs, considering the number of ineligible beneficiaries. A senior officer said that recovering the amount would be a difficult task. The scheme has excluded landholders holding constitutional posts, those serving or retired officers of State or Union government or public sector undertakings, professionals and those pay income tax.