The agriculture department has identified 8,401 bogus beneficiaries of the PM Kisan scheme in Lakhimpur district.
The bogus beneficiaries have been identified during an inquiry by the state agriculture department amid lockdown in the wake of a scam in implementation of the PM Kisan scheme.
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The bogus beneficiaries include government employees and also pensioners drawing more than Rs 10,000 per month, persons with no agriculture land, and economically sound persons.
However, the bogus beneficiaries of the PM Kisan scheme have voluntarily returned their deposits accumulating to Rs 76,000 to the banks in the district.
The Lakhimpur agriculture department has so far selected 58,325 beneficiaries out of 66,726 applicants for availing benefits of the PM Kisan scheme in the district.
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Launched in December 2018, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sanman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) is a central scheme with 100% funding from the Government of India.
The scheme provides income support of Rs. 6,000 per year to all farmer families in three equal installments of Rs. 2,000 each and the amount is transferred directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries every four months.
The responsibility of the identification of beneficiaries of farmer families for the PM-Kisan scheme rests entirely with the state governments or union territories.
Apart from Lakhimpur, the scam has also taken place in various other districts of Assam.
Some agents have allegedly demanded Rs. 500 from each applicant to get the farmer’s name enrolled for the PM-Kisan card in various Gaon Panchayats in Lakhimpur.