Kolkata, Jan 01 (UNI) Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has brought smiles on to the faces of farmers before the start of the New Year with the announcement of two schemes for their benefit.
The schemes are Krishak Bandhu 1 and Krishak Bandhu 2.
Both schemes will be implemented by the Agriculture Department.
Krishak Bandhu 1 is in the form of an assurance model. If a farmer dies between the ages of 18 and 60, be it due to natural or unnatural cause, the family would receive a one-time grant of Rs 2 lakh.
About 72 lakh farmer families will benefit from this scheme. While the scheme will be functional from January 1, 2019, applications for the scheme will be accepted from February 1.
The other scheme, Krishak Bandhu 2 is in the form of a yearly grant to farmers’ families. The government will give Rs 5,000 per acre per annum in two instalments to farmers’ families. In case of smaller lands, a proportional amount will be given to the farmers.
For this scheme too, calculations will start from January 1, 2019, while applications will be accepted from February 1.
A few thousand crores will be spent for these schemes by the State Government.
It may be mentioned that tax and mutation fee on agricultural land have been waived by the State Government already.
The Government has already paid Rs 1,200 crore as compensation to 30 lakh farmers due to natural disasters.
The State Government also pays the premium for crop insurance scheme.
UNI SJC AKM