Jammu and Kashmir tops the list of Union Territories where ineligible farmers have received the most money under a 2019 central scheme to supplement the income of farmers, irrespective of their landholdings, in India.
Ineligible farmers in J-K have received about ₹8.51 crores, followed by the UT of New Delhi where ineligible beneficiaries have received about ₹55.80 lakhs.
According to data provided in response to a Right to Information (RTI) request by the New Delhi-based Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), which was made public by the group, a total of 20,48,634 ineligible persons across India had received funds under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan scheme as on 31 July, 2020 — totalling ₹1,364 crores (about $186.59).
According to the CHRI’s analysis, J-K accounted for the highest number of ineligible beneficiaries under the scheme. A total of 7,830 beneficiaries in J-K were ineligible, followed by the Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu UT where only 83 recipients were ineligible.
Furthermore, J-K was the only UT where about 69.82 percent of the beneficiaries were ineligible while another 3,384 fell under the “income tax payee” category, followed by UT of New Delhi with 667 beneficiaries who had payed income tax. There were just four such beneficiaries in the Ladakh UT that was carved out from J-K state last year.
In the RTI response, the central Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare has given two categories of ineligible recipients — “ineligible farmers” and “Income Tax payees”. Under the scheme, the families of farmers are provided financial benefits of ₹6,000 per year, paid in three equal instalments. The scheme, however, excludes families with working professionals, pensioners drawing more than ₹10,000 a month, those who have paid income tax in the previous year, and those who have been on official posts — including former and present chairpersons of district panchayats.
In all UTs other than J-K, the tax paying farmers outnumbered the generic ineligible category of farmers. J-K also tops the list of UTs where the tax paying beneficiaries have received the highest amount of funds — ₹2.99 crores, followed by New Delhi at ₹55.7 lakhs.
All Over India
The CHRI noted that the department’s Central Public Information Officer had responded to the RTI request “only after the First Appellate Authority (FAA) directed the disclosure of this information.”
About ₹985.09 crores ($134.72 million), 72.28 percent, were paid to income tax paying beneficiaries, who constitute about 55.58 percent of the recipients whereas ₹379.03 crores ($51.84 million), about 27.78 percent, was paid to the rest.
Among the states, more than 93 percent of the 4,42,000 beneficiaries in Punjab were ineligible while 99.99 percent of the 3,45,000 beneficiaries in Assam were ineligible according to the government’s own data.
With ₹323.85 crores, Punjab topped the list of states and UTs where both categories of ineligible farmers received the largest share — 23.74 percent of the total. Punjab is followed by Maharashtra with ₹216.90 crores, about 11.90.
The two states along with Gujarat, where ineligible beneficiaries received ₹162.34; beneficiaries in Uttar Pradesh received ₹146.01 crores; and beneficiaries in Karnataka received ₹77.44 crores, account for more than two-thirds of the total funds — about ₹926.54 crores.
