As stated by the minister of state for agriculture Gajendra Shekhawat, the government will pay 10 crore farmers Rs 2,000 each by the end of March. They will also be able to speedily transfer succeeding installments under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKISAN) scheme for small landholders.
The minister also stated that the first payment may not be as easy as subsequent transfers. However, once all the beneficiaries will have their bank accounts linked with Aadhaar, the distribution of the second part would be easier and make the process rapid.
Experts and former officials said the process could face challenges, mainly in big states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh where land records may not have been fully digitized.
With further processing, the government has even asked states for lists of eligible farmers. The basic criterion is ready. Small and marginal farmers owning land of up to 2 hectares need to be identified. Economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said the agriculture ministry would go all out to implement the scheme.
Initially, Rs 20,000 crore will be provided for the scheme, effective December 1, 2018, to help farmers owning up to 2 hectares. This amount is enough to pay 100 million farmers one instalment of Rs 2,000. In the next fiscal, Rs 75,000 crore has been allocated, which can pay 120 million farmers three such instalments.
Normally, such situation would take at least 6 months even in states having better data of land records. However, since the Centre is pushing very hard, it is possible that at least in some districts of every state, such a transfer would be possible before March 31.
Former agriculture secretary PK Basu also said implementation would be a challenge. However, states like Odisha, Jharkhand and Telangana, where state governments have already rolled out similar cash credit schemes, the government can easily make headway.
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