Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday disbursed financial assistance to more than 51.54 lakh farmers under the CM-Kishan Yojana. A financial aid of ₹2,000 was credited to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries under the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme.

A cumulative amount of ₹1,041 crore was disbursed to the accounts of farmers. The money was released on the eve of the major agrarian festival of Nuakhai in western Odisha. The state government has even declared the day after Nuakhai a holiday.

Launching the scheme at the premises of the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Majhi said his government had been working for the last fourteen months to bring about change in the lives of farmers. “In our first cabinet, we passed the Krushak Samrudha Yojana for the benefit of farmers. Under the scheme, more than 18 lakh farmers have already been registered. We had even increased the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy to ₹3,100 per quintal and 92.63 lakh metric tonnes of paddy were collected.”

He also made a veiled attack on the previous government for not taking adequate steps to improve farmers’ plight. Majhi said that with the combined support of various central and state schemes like PM-Kisan, CM-Kisan and Subhadra Yojana, the annual income of farmers had now gone up by ₹58,000 in the past fourteen months.

Under the scheme, small and marginal farmers are entitled to receive ₹4,000 every year in two equal instalments. Majhi also inaugurated the Krushak Bhavan, worth ₹59 crore, on this occasion and a reception centre for farmers. He also announced that registration dates for farmers’ Krushak
Sammruddha Yojana will be further extended. “I will ensure that not a single farmer is left out of the scheme,” the chief minister said.

The chief minister’s assurance came at a time when farmers are agitating
over the short supply of subsidised urea.