Border farmers without land rights to get PM-KISAN benefit: Chouhan

Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced PM-KISAN benefits for border farmers without land rights and promised flood relief for J&K along with GST-linked cuts in farm equipment costs

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday said farmers without land ownership rights in India’s border villages will start receiving PM-KISAN benefits once certified by the state government, fulfilling a long-pending demand of the border areas.  He said one installment of the scheme will be released immediately. 

 

Chouhan made the assurance during a tour of the flood-affected areas of Jammu and Kashmir, where he told farmers and labourers that he would speak with the state government to increase the mandays under MGNREGA to 150 from the existing 100.

 

He also promised that, as several houses had been destroyed in the floods, assistance of Rs 1,30,000 would be provided under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for the construction of houses, along with a separate amount for toilets and Rs 40,000 as MGNREGA wages from the Rural Development Ministry. “We have received information about 5,101 damaged houses, and I will approve assistance for them immediately upon returning,” Chouhan said. 

 

He urged the state government to extend financial assistance to horticulture workers and apple orchards. He said crops such as chilli and paddy had suffered severe damage, for which insured farmers would receive full compensation under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, in addition to relief assistance.

 

Earlier in Delhi, Chouhan called upon tractor and farm equipment manufacturers to ensure that the benefits of GST reductions are passed on to farmers from 22 September, saying the move would lead to significant price cuts ranging from Rs 23,000 to Rs 63,000 across different tractor categories.

 

Addressing the media after a meeting with farm equipment makers, Chouhan said the GST reduction would also make machinery at Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) across the country cheaper, and rentals should come down accordingly.

 

The primary purpose of CHCs is to provide marginal and small farmers with access to farm equipment and machinery at subsidised rates on hire.

 

“The GST reduction will directly benefit farmers. The government’s aim is to increase farmers’ income, for which it is not only necessary to enhance production but also to reduce the cost of cultivation,” Chouhan said.