The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Thursday (28 July 2022) decided to provide diesel subsidies for agriculture use for the following three months. Amrendra Pratap Singh, the state's agriculture minister, stated that farmers can receive a subsidy of Rs 600 per acre per month, up to a maximum of 8 acres.
"We have decided to provide farmers with affordable irrigation. Bihar comprises a sizable portion of the drought zone. As a result, it was decided to give them diesel subsidies”, he stated.
Given the drought-like situation due to scanty rainfall in Kharif, 2022, the government has asked the farmers to irrigate the Kharif crops with diesel-powered pump sets. Online application for diesel subsidy starts from July 29, 2022.
The subsidy would be given to Bihar's farmers from July 29 to October 30. For his or her 8 acres, a farmer is only eligible for a maximum subsidy. Farmers who possess more than 8 acres are not permitted to submit claims that exceed the established limits.
Benefits of Bihar Diesel Anudan Yojana:
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On the diesel purchased for using diesel pumps to irrigate Kharif crops, Rs 600 per acre would be provided as an irrigation diesel subsidy for Rs. 60 per liter.
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A maximum of 8 acres would be allotted per farmer for the diesel subsidies.
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The concerned ward member and agriculture coordinator will identify those farmers who cultivate on other people's land (non-ryot) and authenticate/verify them. Only the person who is farming should benefit from the grant, it will be kept in mind when verifying. Only farmers who genuinely use diesel for irrigation should submit applications under this scheme. The concerned Agriculture Coordinator will look into the purchase and use of diesel for irrigation.
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The digital acknowledgment receipt (digital voucher), which includes the last ten digits of the farmer's 13-digit registration number, will be valid after purchasing diesel from an approved gas station.
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Diesel purchased for irrigation till October 30, 2022, will be accepted.
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Given the drought-like situation due to scanty rainfall, 16 hours of uninterrupted power supply is being provided by the state government from agricultural feeders.
The benefit of this scheme will be given to online registered farmers only. Farmers are requested to visit the website of the Agriculture Department, Government of Bihar https://state.bihar.gov.in/krishi/CitizenHome.html on the given link DBT in Agriculture or https://dbtagriculture.bihar.gov
For more information, you can contact your respective Agriculture Coordinator / Block Agriculture Officer / Sub-Divisional Agriculture Officer / District Agriculture Officer and Tollfree No. 18001801551 of Kisan Call Centre.
Reality Check: Are farmers receiving subsidy benefits?
The government provides various subsidies to farmers but are they actually benefitting them? To find out the ground reality, Krishi Jagran conducted a fact check by talking to the village head of Sikandarpur, Bihar.
Dr. Nagendra Kumar Singh, Gram Panchayat member, Sikandarpur, Bihar, said, “Only 25% of the subsidy money reaches the farmers who apply for government subsidies, the rest is kept by the middlemen. Officers who come to verify the land and documents to sanction the subsidy to farmers only verify 4-5 farmers and reject other eligible farmers on their whim. Applying online doesn’t solve the issue as farmers are still only receiving less than half the subsidy money in their bank account.”
