Bhubaneswar, Sep 9 (FN Representative) Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday launched the CM Kisan Yojana in a function at Sambalpur, on the occasion of the Nuakhai festival, an agrarian festival observed with much religious fervour in Odisha particularly in Western Odisha, on Sunday. Over 46 lakh small, marginalised and landless farmers will benefit from the scheme. Under the scheme, a sum of over Rs 925 crore will be transferred to the accounts of 46 lakh small, marginalised and landless farmers through DBT. Addressing the farmers, the Chief Minister said, “Since from Nuakhai the preparations for Rabi crop begin, you will get the amount today. With the assistance money, you can buy agricultural equipment, seeds, fertilizers and pesticides well in advance.”
The scheme aims to provide financial assistance to farmers who are not covered under the Pradhan Mantri Kissan Samman Nidhi Yojana. Under the scheme, the eligible farmers will be given financial assistance of Rs 4,000 per annum in two phases — at the beginning of the Rabi crop and before the commencement of the Kharif crop. The assistance will be transferred to the accounts of farmers on Nuakhai and on Akshay Tritiyafestival. Among other dignitaries Union Education Minister and Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Rabi Narayan Naik and Sambalpur MLA Jaynarayan Mishra attended the function. On this occasion, the Chief Minister also launched three portals for the benefit of farmers. The CM Kissan Portal for the registration of new beneficiaries under the CM Kissan Scheme, Krushak Odisha Unified Portal for enabling farmers to apply for schemes of various agriculture and allied departments in one place and a special campaign for inclusion of all eligible beneficiaries under PM Kissan Yojana in next two months. Earlier in the morning, the Chief Minister had a ‘darshan’ of Ma Samalei, the presiding deity and offered prayers.