Tax payers, MP/MLAs not eligible get Rs 6,000 per year cash dole for farmers

Families with income tax payers, serving or retired government employees and former or present MPs, MLAs and ministers will not be eligible for the Rs 6,000 a year cash dole announced in the Budget for small and marginal farmers.

Besides, professionals like doctors, engineers, lawyers, chartered accountants, and architects registered with professional bodies and their immediate family members will be ineligible.

Releasing operational guidelines of the Rs 75,000 crore scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi’ (PM-Kisan), the agriculture ministry said the threshold limit of two hectares cultivable land would take into account holding of husband, wife and minor children.

In the interim budget, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announced direct income support of Rs 6,000 per year to 12 crore small and marginal farmers holding cultivable land up to 2 hectare.

The guideline has defined a small and marginal landholder farmer family as “a family comprising of husband, wife and minor children who collectively own cultivable land up to 2 hectare as per land records of the concerned State/UT“.

It has also listed defined categories of person who despite meeting the land holding requirement would not be eligible for getting the cash support.

The Government intends to release the first instalment before March 31, but will make Aadhaar mandatory for availing the second instalment in the next fiscal.

Institutional landholders have also been excluded in the list of the categories of beneficiaries of higher economic status that would not be eligible for benefit under the scheme.

Farmer families will also be excluded if one or more members belong to following categories -- (a) former and present holders of constitutional posts (b) former and present ministers/state ministers and former/present members of Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha/ state legislative assemblies/state legislative councils, former and present mayors of municipal corporations and former and present chairpersons of district panchayats.

The exclusion list includes families of all serving or retired officers and employees of central/state government ministries/offices/departments and its field units central or state public sector enterprises (PSEs) and attached offices/autonomous institutions under government as well as regular employees of the local bodies (excluding multi tasking staff/class IV/Group D employees).

All superannuated/retired pensioners whose monthly pension is Rs 10,000/or more (excluding multi-tasking staff/Class IV/Group D employees) of above category will also be excluded.

The benefit of the scheme would not be available to “all persons who paid income tax in last assessment year.”

Families having one or more members as professionals like doctors, engineers, lawyers, chartered accountants, and architects registered with professional bodies and carrying out profession by undertaking practices would also be excluded from the beneficiary list.

“For the purpose of exclusion State/UT Government can certify the eligibility of the beneficiary based on self declaration by the beneficiaries,” the ministry said.

In case beneficiary is not available, the ministry said State governments may consider certification based on the declaration by other adult member of his/her family.

“In case of incorrect self declaration, beneficiary shall be liable for recovery of transferred financial benefit and other penal actions as per law,” it added.

PM-Kisan, will be implemented from this year and the first installment will be transferred by March.