Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has identified around 3.41 fake beneficiaries under the KALIA (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) scheme, Agriculture Minister Arun Kumar Sahu said on Tuesday.
The minister informed that 51,05,290 KALIA beneficiaries had been registered till May 29 this year and around 3.41 of them were found to be ineligible.
“During verification, it was found that around 12,000 large farmers have availed the benefits under the scheme. They will be motivated to refund the amount so that they can be included in the PM Kisan Yojana,” he added.
Apart from this, 9,000 boys and girls have also availed the benefits. Since the head of their families received the financial assistance, the aid amount will be adjusted during the next phase of assistance, he pointed out.
The minister further said that around 20,000 government employees and pension holders had also received the assistance. They will be asked to refund the amount, failing which it will be deducted from their bank accounts.
“Besides, more than one person of a family have received financial assistance. Their number is about three lakh. In such cases, the next phase assistance will be provided accordingly. For example, if three members of a family have received the assistance, one of the eligible members will be provided with the assistance in the next phase while the amount received by the two other members will be adjusted accordingly,” Sahu said.
He said any eligible or ineligible beneficiary who is willing to refund the KALIA assistance, can do so by transferring the money to account no. 38474500762 in State Bank of India (SBI)’s State Secretariat Branch, Bhubaneswar. The cheque should mention ‘Voluntary refund of KALIA assistance’ as well as the IFSC code SBIN0010236.
The minister said if any eligible beneficiary feels that his/her name has not been included in the scheme by mistake, he/she can apply again apply through the KALIA website www.kalia.co.in along with all the documents required for verification.
