MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan announces to transfer Rs 4,000 direct cash to farmers

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said his government will transfer Rs 4,000 into bank accounts of farmers in the state in two equal instalments in a financial year under a new scheme to be launched on September 25. The benefit would cover about 70 lakh farmers who are enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme.

The PM-KISAN beneficiaries in MP will now get a total amount of Rs 10,000, including Rs 6,000 being transferred by the Centre, an official said.

The "CM Samman Nidhi" scheme will be launched on September 25, the birth anniversary of Jan Sangh co-founder Deen Dayal Upadhyay.

The announcement comes ahead of upcoming bypolls to 28 Assembly seats in the state and at a time when the Opposition parties have united against the BJP over the passage of two arm bills in Parliament.

"With a view of overall development of farmers, we have decided that schemes being run in their interest, such as relief under RCB6(4), PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, loan at zero per cent interest and Prime Minister Crop Insurance, we will implement all the schemes as a package," Chouhan said in a

series of tweets.

In the first phase of this series, the "CM Samman Nidhi" will be started in the state, he said.

"Under this scheme, all eligible beneficiary farmer families covered under the PM Samman Nidhi will be paid a total of Rs 4,000 in two instalments in a financial year.

Welfare of farmers is the goal of my life," Chouhan tweeted.

The chief minister said his government



will help farmers to double their income by 2022.

"We re-implemented the loan scheme at zero interest rate. Complete benefits of 'Kisan Samman Nidhi' and 'Bima Yojana' were given to them. More than Rs 27,000 crore were paid to farmers for food grains purchase. We will leave no stone unturned to double farmers' income by 2022," he said in another tweet.

Earlier in the day, Chouhan, in a programme here, transferred loans worth Rs 800 crore to farmers' accounts in the state at zero per cent interest.

Under the PM-KISAN scheme, the Centre transfers an amount of Rs 6,000 per year, in three equal instalments, directly into the bank accounts of farmers, subject to certain exclusion criteria relating to higher income status.

Later in the evening, Chouhan informed his cabinet colleagues in a meeting that beneficiaries (of PM-KISAN) will now get a total amount of Rs 10,000, including Rs 4,000 from the CM Samman Nidhi scheme and Rs 6,000 transferred by the Centre, an official said.

Chouhan informed the cabinet that transfer of the first instalment into bank accounts of entitled beneficiaries will begin on September 25 itself, the official said.

The CM said there are 70 lakh beneficiaries of the PM-KISAN scheme in Madhya Pradesh, and each of them will be given the benefits of the new scheme, he said.

The bypolls to 28 seats became necessary in view of resignations by 25 MLAs of the Congress, who have joined the BJP, in recent months and death of three other legislators.

The Election Commission is yet to announce the poll schedule.