Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme to accelerate agricultural prosperity and to reduce poverty in Odisha on the New Year Eve on Monday.
The scheme,announced on December 21, will cover 92% of the cultivators, loanee and non-loanee farmers, sharecroppers and landless agricultural labourers.
Mr. Patnaik released the logo and website of the scheme, a list of 21.40 lakh small farmers and a draft farmers’ benefit list of one lakh actual farmers.
He urged the Departments of Agriculture, Cooperation and Panchayati Raj to work in mission mode to ensure that not a single farmer was left out in the scheme.
To begin with, the farmers will be provided ₹5,000 each to take care of the initial investment for the current Rabi season. In a full year, all the small and marginal farmers will receive ₹10,000 for Kharif and Rabi combined. The final list of all beneficiaries will be prepared in the next phase from the gram panchayat level.
The farmers can know about details of the KALIA scheme during the People’s Empowerment – Enabling Transparency and Accountability (PEETHA) camps being organised between January 15 and January 20 at gram panchayat level. The PEETHA camp also will be organised from February 15 to 20 and from March 15 to 20, 2019.
The letters about extension of financial assistance to eligible small and marginal farmers will also be handed over during the PEETHA camp.
The State level committee, Implementation committee, District level committee and Block level committee have been formed for monitoring and overseeing smooth implementation of the scheme.
As regards landless agricultural households, financial assistance of ₹12,500 will be provided to each for agricultural allied activities such as small goat rearing unit, mini-layer unit, duckery units, fishery kits for fisherman, mushroom cultivation and bee-keeping etc.
Besides, the vulnerable cultivators/landless agricultural labourers will get financial assistance of ₹10,000 per family per year to enable them to take care of their sustenance.
An amount of ₹10,180 crore will be spent under KALIA over a period of three years till 2020-211. Crop loans up to ₹50,000 will henceforth be interest free.
Night meal
Meanwhile, Mr. Patnaik inaugurated the night meal facility at as many as 54 Aahar centres located near government hospitals across the State. Aahar centres are being run in 76 municipal areas of the State providing noon meal comprising cooked rice and dalma at places of public congregations at ₹5.