Kalia Yojana-PM-KISAN merger on cards!

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is planning to merge KALIA Yojana with Centre’s PM-KISAN for the benefit of farmers in the state.

Sources said the state government is in discussion with the Union Agriculture Ministry for the merger of Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (Kalia) Yojana with PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi.

Odisha Agriculture Department is preparing a detailed plan to merge Kalia Yojana with PM-KISAN Yojana.

The government hoped that the Kalia Yojana-PM-KISAN merger decision will help the farmers at large. It will be implemented from next year, said a senior official.

The state government is following the footstep of the Andhra Pradesh government, which in February this year merged its own Annadatha Sukhibhava scheme with PM-KISAN.

Like the state’s Kalia scheme, the AP government was providing direct benefit transfer of Rs 10,000 to its farmers.

As per the state government’s plan, all eligible farmers covered under Kalia Yojana will get Rs 10,000 per year in two or three tranches.

Under PM-KISAN, the Centre pays Rs 6,000 per year in installments of Rs 2,000 to the eligible farmer across the country. On the other hand, the farmers get Rs 5,000 per crop under the Kalia Yojana in Odisha.

Kalia also covers landless farm labourers who have been left out of the PM-KISAN scheme.

However, the state government is working out on the module of the Kalia Yojana-PM-KISAN merger.

Meanwhile, the state government claimed that it has started disbursing money under the second phase Kalia Yojana.