In the wake of a possible drought-like situation in Jharkhand, the Government has decided to roll out the Mukhya Mantri Krishi Ashirwad Yojana (MMKAY) on August 10 and disburse Rs 5,000 to 15 lakh odd farmers for each acre of land they own, Agriculture Minister Randhir Singh said on Tuesday.
The scheme, he added, will be launched by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu in presence of Chief Minister Raghubar Das in Ranchi. Under the MMKAY around 35 lakh farmers, who own lands up to five acres, are supposed to get cash support of Rs 5,000 per acre from the State Government. While only 15 lakh farmers have registered under the scheme so far, the Government is running aggressive campaigns to register the remaining 20 lakh farmers under the scheme by October, Singh said.
Addressing media persons at Suchna Bhawan in Ranchi about the achievements of the incumbent Government in the field of agriculture and animal husbandry, Singh said that the cash support under MMKAY will be transferred directly through Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries on August 10.
“Around 15 lakh farmers, who have already been registered under the scheme, will get the funds in their bank accounts on August 10. The remaining 20 lakh farmers too will be registered soon and the funds will be transferred to their bank accounts by October this year,” Singh said.
At least 18 of 24 districts in Jharkhand were declared drought-affected last year. This year, the State is dealing with a rainfall deficit of 38 per cent, as per figures updated on July 29. State Agriculture Secretary Puja Singhal said that the decision of expediting the rolling out of MMKAY was taken in a bid to ensure some relief for farmers in case of a drought.
“The funds will help them (farmers) combat any distressful situation. They may even find alternatives for generating income in case drought creates a financial burden on them,” said Singhal. She admitted that the situation of farmers is below par at present and the State was committed in providing relief to them.
Singhal and Principal Secretary to CM, Sunil Kumar Barnwal on Tuesday also informed the Deputy Commissioners (DC) of all the 24 districts over video conferencing about the Government’s plan of rolling out the scheme. “Any official found guilty of being negligent towards their duties under the scheme shall be suspended,” Barnwal told the DCs.
Meanwhile, counting the achievements of the incumbent Government in the past four and a half years, Singh said that State has increased the production of eggs and meat by five times since 2014. The State produced 466.31 million eggs in the year 2014-2015, which has increased to 2573.3 million in 2018-2019. The production of meat too has increased from 47.87 metric tonne to 269.06 metric tonne. Fish production in the State has doubled since 2014, he said. In 2014-2015, Jharkhand produced 1.04 metric tonne fish and in 2018-2019 it produced 2.08 metric tonne fish.
The Government here also distributed mobile phones to 6,976 farmers in a bid to bridge the gap between modern technology and farmers working in the interiors, said Singh, adding that the State had sent at least 71 farmers, including 24 women, to Israel to give them exposure to the latest farming techniques.
