In a setback to the Namo Shetkari Maha Samman Nidhi Yojana (NSMN) scheme, it has come to light that a significant number of approximately 3.1 million farmers in the state will be unable to access the annual cash benefit of ₹6,000. A Hindustan Times report mentioned that the exclusions are attributed to various reasons including the absence of land ownership, incomplete Aadhaar linking, and non-compliance with e-KYC requirements.
Discrepancy in Projected vs. Actual Beneficiaries
The NSMN scheme, a budgetary initiative introduced by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in March, aimed to provide financial support to farmers similar to the PM-Kisan scheme. Fadnavis had initially projected that the scheme would benefit around 11.7 million farmers. However, the state's agricultural department has recently conducted an assessment that has led them to believe that the actual beneficiaries might be significantly fewer, numbering around 8.6 million farmers.
Data Source and Bottlenecks
An official from the agriculture department, who requested anonymity, disclosed that their data was obtained from the central government's PM-Kisan Yojana. They mentioned that while the process of disbursing funds was in progress, their dedicated application was presently under development. Drawing from data sourced from the central scheme, they highlighted that 8.6 million farmers had successfully updated their account information. However, within the pool of 9.7 million farmers eligible for the NSMN scheme, approximately 1.1 million farmers had pending actions related to Aadhaar linking or providing land ownership details – actions that were prerequisites for the eventual release of funds.
Stringent Criteria and Mandatory Procedures
To access the benefits of the NSMN scheme, farmers are required to link their Aadhaar identification with their respective bank accounts. Furthermore, they need to provide verifiable records of their land ownership, ensuring their eligibility. Additionally, the implementation of e-KYC procedures has been made mandatory to ensure that the intended benefits are effectively channeled to the deserving recipients.
Challenges in Compliance
The official further elaborated that a total of 11.7 million farmers had submitted applications to access the cash benefits, and a substantial 3.1 million were encountering difficulties in fulfilling the specified criteria or effectively navigating the crucial procedural stages. Consequently, it was anticipated that the initial disbursement installment under the NSMN scheme would not be issued for at least four weeks.
Government's Commitment and Delayed Implementation
The state government has allocated ₹4,000 crore in supplementary demands, a clear indication of their commitment to the scheme. Despite the delay, officials assure that substantial progress has been made in developing the application for fund disbursement, which is at approximately 60% completion. The initial disbursement is anticipated to be actualized within the forthcoming three to four weeks. Delays in scheme implementation have primarily been attributed to the time taken to procure data through the application programming interface sourced from the central government.
Share
Tweet
