The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme has found itself entangled in an eligibility controversy in Bihar. Over 81,000 farmers have been identified as ineligible beneficiaries, leading the government to take action and collect refunds. The primary reasons for their disqualification range from paying income tax to various other factors, according to news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) report.
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"After scrutiny, Bihar's agriculture department has identified 81,595 ineligible beneficiaries, comprising 45,879 income tax payees since 2020 and 35,716 disqualified for other reasons," Alok Ranjan Ghosh, Director (Agriculture), was quoted as saying in the PTI report.
The total refund amount, which stands at approximately Rs 81.6 crore, is now being expedited for collection from these disqualified farmers.
At a recent meeting of the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC), top officials were directed to prioritise the refund collection process. Banks have also been instructed to issue fresh reminders, if necessary, and to freeze the accounts of ineligible beneficiaries.
So far, certain banks have managed to collect approximately Rs 10.3 crore in refund money from these farmers.
This incident in Bihar is not an isolated one.
In July, Maharashtra faced a similar predicament with 14.28 lakh ineligible beneficiaries receiving Rs 1,754.50 crore under the PM-Kisan scheme. The government managed to recover only Rs 93.21 crore from 1.04 lakh ineligible beneficiaries in the state.
In response to this situation, Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde admitted that some beneficiaries in the state did not even own agricultural land but had received funds through the scheme.
Last year, too, over 21 lakh farmers in Uttar Pradesh were found to be ineligible, according to state agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi.
The PM-Kisan scheme, operational since December 1, 2018, aims to provide an annual income support of Rs 6,000 to land-holding farmer families in three equal instalments. State governments are responsible for identifying eligible farmer families according to scheme guidelines, and funds are directly transferred to their bank accounts.
However, the recent eligibility controversies highlight the importance of ensuring that only eligible farmers, as per the criteria laid out, receive the benefits of this central government initiative. Various categories of beneficiaries, including those holding constitutional posts, former and present ministers, and high-income professionals, are ineligible for the PM-Kisan scheme.
Conditions for ineligibility under the PM Kisan scheme
The following farmers are not eligible to get the benefits of the PM-Kisan:
(a) All institutional landholders
(b) Farmer families in which one or more of its members belong to the following categories:
i. Former and present holders of constitutional posts
ii. Former and present ministers/state ministers and former/present members of Lok Sabha/ Rajya Sabha/state legislative assemblies/state legislative councils, former and present mayors of municipal corporations, and former and present chairpersons of district panchayats.
iii. All serving or retired officers and employees of central/state government ministries /offices/departments and its field units central or state PSEs and attached offices /autonomous institutions under government as well as regular employees of the local bodies (excluding multi tasking staff /
class lV/group D employees)
iv. All superannuated/retired pensioners Rs. 0,000 or more (excluding multi tasking employees)
v. All persons who paid income tax in the last assessment year
vi. Professionals like doctors, engineers, lawyers, chartered accountants, and architects registered with professional bodies and undertaking practices
What ineligible farmers should do?
Ineligible farmers can voluntarily surrender PM Kisan benefits. The government in May launched a voluntary surrender of the PM-KISAN Yojana (Scheme) benefits tab.
Here are the steps to voluntary surrender PM Kisan benefits:
Step 1: Visit the official website of PM Kisan
Step 2: Now, click on the ‘voluntary surrender of pm-kisan benefits’ tab
Step 3: Enter the registration number, captcha code and OTP received
Step 4: The total instalment received will be displayed. Click ‘Yes’ on 'Do you wish to surrender your PM Kisan Benefit' and enter OTP.
However, it must be noted that this option is to surrender new benefits and not to refund the money. For refunding the money, farmers can follow these steps:
Step 1: Visit the website PM Kisan and click on refund online
Step 2: Click on “If not paid earlier then select this option to refund the amount online now.”
Step 3: Mention your Aadhaar number, Account number, mobile number
Step 4: Enter the captcha code and click on ‘Get data’. On the next page, all details with previous payments will be available.
Step 5: Click on the refund payment box, enter email ID and contact details
Step 6: Now, click on confirm.
Step 7: Under the payment page, select the bank to make payment.
First Published: Sept 12, 2023 1:09 PM IST
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