More than 2.25 crore farmers, counting 1.08 crore in the electorally significant Uttar Pradesh, have received the 2nd installment of Rs 2,000 each under the PM-Kisan yojana since 1st April, as per official data.
On one hand, these farmers have received the initial installment of Rs 2,000 whereas 86 lakh others have just got the 1st installment of Rs 2,000. When the scheme was announced in the interim Budget by the then finance minister Piyush Goyal in February, he told that it would benefit 12 crore cultivators with up to 2 hectares land. Each farmer was supposed to get Rs 6,000 in three equal installments every year.
The PM-Kisan yojana, estimated to cost Rs 75,000 crore yearly, took retrospective effect from 1st December 2018. PM Modi led BJP government’s plan was to make sure that the benefit of scheme reaches as many as eligible growers as possible before the polls and it had confirmed a list of around 4.76 crore farmers for the cash transfer.
However, the EC’s model code of conduct that came into effect on 10th March 2019 and non-cooperation among some Opposition-ruled states such as Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal hit the Centre’s plans. The deployment of central & state government employees for election duty has also weakened the Centre’s efforts to transfer the initial 2 installments to all those in the beneficiary list.
A senior official said, “At first, Aadhaar was not compulsory for the PM-Kisan cash transfer to beneficiary bank accounts & the payment was made even if a grower had only Aadhaar enrollment”. But, since the guidelines then made Aadhaar obligatory, the farmer was required to provide Aadhaar number and this delayed the whole process as officials were busy on poll duty, the official added.
Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, all BJP-ruled states, are the top performers in transferring the 2nd installment that has covered more than 1.41 crore farmers in these states.
