BHUBANESWAR: A day after Agriculture Minister Arun Kumar Sahu landed the State Government in an embarrassing situation by claiming that there were 3.41 lakh ineligible beneficiaries under the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment had to clarify that only 32,000 persons were not entitled to the financial assistance.
In view of the large scale resentment, the State Government also announced that the monetary assistance received by multiple beneficiaries of the same family will be adjusted in next instalment under KALIA scheme. As the opposition political parties ganged up, the ruling BJD had to issue a strong rejoinder rejecting the statement of Minister.
Sahu who had said the fake beneficiaries were provided Rs 170 crore under the State’s flagship scheme. BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb said the number of fake Kalia beneficiaries were 32,000 and not 3.41 lakh as claimed by the Minister. The Agriculture department maintained that necessary steps will be taken to retrieve the funds from the ineligible beneficiaries.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also reiterated that Government will take necessary steps to retrieve money from ineligible beneficiaries who availed benefits under the scheme. The clarification issued by the Government claimed that about three lakh persons from eligible families, including minors, This meant another person from the family also got financial assistance. None of the persons who received the assistance was an ineligible beneficiary.
Govt puts ineligible KALIA beneficiaries at 32,000
“However, the KALIA scheme envisages that there will be only one beneficiary in each family,” it said. The Government maintained that assistance sent to multiple members of the same eligible family will be treated as if next instalment which is due under KALIA for that family has already been received by that family. Deb also maintained that 12,000 large farmers and 20,000 Government employees and pension holders are ineligible beneficiaries. He claimed that multiple members of the same eligible families who have received KALIA assistance are not ineligible.
“The assistance released to them shall be adjusted in subsequent instalments within five years,” he said. Similarly, Deb said 9,000 minors have received the assistance. Their families are eligible. “We will streamline it in five years,” he said adding that the money will be retrieved from the large farmers who have got Kalia assistance.
“The margin of error is only 0.62 per cent. It is not at all a scam as alleged by opposition parties,” he added. The Opposition, however, alleged that the Government seems to be tinkering with figures to wriggle out of a difficult situation it finds itself because of the Minister’s statement.