KALIA Scheme: Govt. Will Provide Rs 2k Each to 4 Lakh Farmers on September 1

KALIA Yojana: On the occasion of Nuakhai, which will begin on Thursday (1 September), the Odisha government will provide financial support of Rs 2,000 per person to more than 41 lakh farmers, including landless agricultural laborers.

The help would be given under the Kalia (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) scheme, for which the government will bear an expenditure of Rs 869 crore. Farmers receive Rs 4,000 from the state government in two installments as part of the income support program.

Prem Chandra Chaudhary, director of agriculture and food production, stated that farmers will receive a direct benefit transfer of Rs 2,000 into their accounts.

Farmers that qualify for the Kalia scheme are able to receive yearly cash support of Rs. 4000 in two payments. While Rs 2,000 is provided for the Rabi crop, Rs 2,000 is given for the Kharif season crop.

Although most of the 41 lakh farmers who will get help are small and medium-sized farmers, Chaudhary stated that some landless agricultural laborers would also benefit financially under the Kalia scheme. He said that Kalia is an entirely transparent scheme since money is only paid to accounts that have authenticity verified by Aadhaar seeding, eliminating the possibility of manipulation.

According to Chaudhary, few other state governments have examined the successful use of Kalia.

Kalia, given the Lord Jagannath name, was introduced months before the 2019 general and assembly elections.  It was believed to be a game-changer for BJD to retain power for a fifth consecutive time in 2019.   Given the scheme's political importance, the state government has already resolved to extend it until 2023–2024 with an investment of Rs 5,933 crore.