PMKSNY: Release Funds under PM Kisan Only After Proper Verification, Urges West Bengal BJP President to Modi

West Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh has written to Prime Minister Modi urging the Central government not to release the funds under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana without proper checking and verification of data approved by the state.

In the letter addressed to Prime Minister, West Bengal BJP President said, “The beneficiary list verified by the State Government needs thorough checking and verification at the level of Union Government so that any genuine beneficiary is not excluded from the benefits. Without proper scrutiny and verification of the data of the state-approved beneficiaries by the Central Government, no further allocation under the scheme should be released.

Why verification is important under PM Kisan?

In this month, seven lakh farmers of the state received one instalment of the scheme, i.e., Rs. 2000. Since the launch of the scheme, this was the first time farmers of the state received the benefit.

During the run-up to the State Assembly polls, Prime Minister and other senior BJP leaders had promised to provide Rs. 18,000, i.e., all pending instalments for three years under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi to about 70 lakh farmers in the state.

The State BJP President mentioned that in West Bengal, there are more than 69 lakh farmers eligible for PM Kisan benefits. The national average of small and marginal category farmers is 86.2% (according to the 10^th Agriculture Census of 2015-16), but in the state, condition is much worse with 96% farmers under the small and marginal farmers’ category.

Mr. Ghosh said, “Out of total eligible farmers, near to 23 lakh farmers got themselves registered on PM Kisan portal and out of which only about 7 lakh beneficiaries got the benefit of the scheme for the present.”

He urged that the complete list of the beneficiaries in West Bengal should be published in the PM Kisan portal and in the office of District Magistrates, Blocks, and Panchayats for the citizens so that everyone knows the listed beneficiaries and make claims and objections against any fraud.

Mr. Ghosh mentioned in the letter, “We apprehend that the names of genuine beneficiaries might be missing from the verified list made ready for payment by the State Government for the present scheme.”