Cong govt in Rajasthan did not send data on farmers eligible for PM-Kisan: Union minister

Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Thursday accused the Congress-led Rajasthan government of not providing requisite information about farmers eligible for the Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna.

Under the scheme, farmers having not more than two hectares of land will get Rs 6,000 per year directly into their bank accounts.

The Union minister of state for agriculture said the farmers of Rajasthan would have got the first installment of Rs 2,000 by now if the state government had provided the required information.

It is unfortunate that the Congress government in the state, which came to power by promising farmer welfare, did not provide data on farmers eligible for the scheme. This government has caused loss to farmers, Shekhawat said at a press conference here.

The minister said that the first installment has already been deposited in the bank accounts of 2.75 crore farmers across the country.

More than 50 lakh small and marginalised farmers in Rajasthan would have directly benefitted through the scheme. The state government just had to give data of eligible farmers to the Centre. But, it is unfortunate that it deprived the farmers of their right, he claimed.

Shekhawat, however, said that most of the data on nearly 1 lakh farmers sent by the state government could not be verified due to various discrepancies. The state government did not send the data after re-verifying, he claimed.

He said that details of only 27,000 farmers could be verified, but the first instalment of Rs 2,000 could not be deposited in their bank accounts due to model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections.