Displaying discrepancy between the generous Harish Rawat Government rolling out largesse and the people on the ground for whom it is meant being kept at bay, around 7,000 farmers have been covered under the much-vaunted Kisan Pension Scheme with the agriculturists accounting for about 60 per cent of the mountainous State’s total population.
Finding things vegetating on the ground in terms of implementation of the scheme, the Chief Minister himself sounded worried. Those privy to the CMO said the CM’s projects meant to connect his electorate is going waste because of the laggardness of the administrative officials to reach out to the unprivileged people of the State.
It may be recalled that while recently addressing the district administration officials over video conferencing facility, Rawat took strong exception to the administrative nonchalance and asked the officials to reach out to the farmers to ensure the farmers avail the Kishan Pension Scheme sans any glitch.
The State Government decided to cover the farmers above 60 years of age under the scheme from August 15, 2014.As per the Government’s laid-down norms, the farmers above 60 years of age, possessing two hectare or less of cultivable lands are eligible to avail the scheme.Besides, agriculture must be the main occupation of the farmers to be eligible for it. To ensure the scheme is rightly implemented, the State Government made the social welfare department the nodal agency.
However, just 7,000 farmers being till date covered under the scheme over six months of its launching tell a sad tale of Governmental sluggishness. Mention worthy, apart from the pension scheme for the farmers, the Government has dished out some other pension schemes involving widows and differently— abled persons. More so, in a bid to ease things, State Government has also simplified norms regarding to the widow pension scheme. Now, the widows will not have to submit affidavits along with the applications to avail themselves of the widow pension scheme. What they have to do now is to submit self-attested papers certifying their eligibility, the officials concerned said.