SAMBALPUR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday rolled out the CM-Kisan Yojana which will benefit around 46 lakh farmers of the state, including the landless. Under the flagship programme, whose launch marked the Nuakhai festival, the government will spend Rs 925 crore.
Launching the scheme at the auditorium of GM university here in presence of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and a host of other ministers, Majhi said eligible farmers will receive Rs 4,000 in two phases through direct benefit transfer. While the first instalment of Rs 2,000 was disbursed on Nuakhai, the remaining Rs 2,000 will be given on Akshaya Tritiya.
The scheme will benefit farmers who had remained out of the ambit of PM-Kisan Yojana. Majhi said the landless farmers will get Rs 12,500 every year in three instalments under the CM-Kisan Yojana. Of the 46 lakhs beneficiaries who received the assistance on the day, 82,666 were from Sambalpur.
“Since Nuakhai also marks the beginning of Rabi season, the state government decided it would be the most appropriate time to disburse the benefits of the CM-Kisan Yojana,” he said. Not just for farmers, a scheme is also being implemented to support their children’s education through Krushi Vidya Nidhi Yojna. Under the scheme, scholarships will be given to children of CM-Kisan beneficiaries for pursuing higher technical education, the chief minister said.
Majhi unveiled a Krushak Odisha Unified Portal of the Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment department on the occasion. The portal will provide a single-window platform to address agriculture-related queries, services and grievances. Majhi also announced that efforts are on to establish the second AIIMS of Odisha in Sambalpur.
Speaking on the occasion, Union minister and Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan said farmers, poor, backward classes and women are a priority of the Odisha government which is why the launch of CM Kisan Yojna and formalisation of MSP of paddy at Rs 3,100 per quintal is a huge step.
Pradhan lauded the Subhadra Yojana and the chief minister’s keenness to implement the ‘Riverfront Development Project’ on the banks of Mahanadi river near Ayodhya Ghat in the city as was proposed by him.
Among others, Revenue minister Suresh Pujari, Panchayati Raj minister Rabi Narayan Naik, Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra and agriculture secretary Arabinda Padhee were present. Deputy chief ministers KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida joined the launch ceremony through video-conferencing.