1st phase KALIA assistance by Jan 26

BHUBANESWAR:  Odisha Government on Saturday announced that the first phase financial aid under the newly-launched Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme will be provided by January 26.Cooperation Minister Surya Narayan Patro said themoney as per the prescribed guidelines will be directly deposited in the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries. “The Government has a list of 12.4 lakh farmers who are having regular transactions like purchasing seeds, fertiliser and selling paddy and other crops. Officials have been asked to verify the list as well as fresh applications. Beneficiaries will be provided assistance once the verification is completed,” he told reporters.

The small and marginal farmers will get `10,000 each for two crops a year as provisioned in the scheme. While the deadline to apply for the scheme in the first phase has been extended till January 15, applications will be received from January 25 to February 5 in the second phase.The State Government has made a provision of `10,180 crore for three years under KALIA scheme, which aims at providing financial, livelihood and insurance support to small, marginal and landless farmers besides the sharecroppers.

“While financial assistance of `5,000 each will be provided by January 26, the beneficiaries selected in the second phase will get the aid next month,” Patro informed.Meanwhile, district collectors have been asked to appoint district-level observers for each block for effective implementation of the scheme. Senior officials like ADM, Project Director of DRDA, Project Administrator of ITDA, Sub-collectors and other senior officers will be given the charge.

The district collectors have already appointed panchayat-level nodal officers for each panchayat and one sector officer for a cluster of panchayats for verification of applications and monitoring of the scheme. Beneficiaries coming under income tax payee category will be excluded. Earlier, praising the KALIA scheme as a better alternative to farm loan waiver, Chairman of 15th Finance Commission NK Singh had termed it the best conceived programme for farmers so far.

CM visits call centre
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday visited KALIA call centre and reviewed activities there. He directed the helpline officials to keep it functional round-the-clock from Sunday. Naveen also attended a phone call made by a small farmer B Madhav Swami of Ganjam district to the helpline. To a query on how much assistance will he get, the CM replied that he would get `25,000 for five crop seasons. When the farmer asked from where he will receive the money, Naveen said the money will be directly deposited in his bank account.