KALIA Beneficiaries To Get Financial Assistance By Jan 26: Minister

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to deposit the money in the bank account of the beneficiaries of KALIA (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) scheme by January 26.

Informing this to the media here on Saturday, Cooperation minister Surya Narayan Patro said while the money would be immediately deposited in the bank account of 12.40 lakhs of small and marginal farmers having regular bank transaction, the farmers who have recently applied for the scheme will be provided financial assistance after validity of their application is verified by the officials concerned.

After the officials submit a list of the valid applicants, the money would be credited to their bank accounts, Patro said.

While January 15 is the last date for first-phase submission of the application for KALIA scheme, the second phase will be from January 25 to February 5. The date for the third phase will be decided later, he added.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has directed the officials to ensure that every eligible farmer is included in the scheme.

Notably, the state government had launched the KALIA scheme on December 31 last year to expedite growth in the agriculture sector and reduce poverty. The scheme covers 92 per cent of the cultivators, loanee as well as non-loanee farmers, share croppers (actual cultivators) and landless agricultural labourers.