Government of Odisha announces KALIA Scheme for farmers

Bhubaneswar: Just months ahead of General election, Government of Odisha has announced on December 21 a new scheme called Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) for providing financial support to the small farmers, marginal farmers and landless agricultural labourers of the state. After Cabinet approval Chief Minister Naveen Pattnaik declared this today in which a sum of Rs 10,180 crore will be spent over a period of 3 years. It is estimated that a total of 57 lakh farmer families, both farmers and agricultural labourers, will be benefiting from the scheme and 92 percent of the total number of farmers will be covered under the scheme.

The scheme has five major components. The small and marginal farmers will get assistance of Rs 10,000 per annum, Rs 5,000 each for kharif and rabi seasons for next 5 crop seasons. Around 30 lakh farmers will get the benefit under this component for purchasing fertilisers and pesticides. Landless farmers will be provided livelihood support assistance of Rs 12,500 each for goat rearing, poultry, duckery, fishery, mushroom cultivation and bee-keeping. 10 lakh household are likely to be covered under this component. Old, incapable and disabled farmers will get assistance of Rs 10,000 per annum for 2 years. Further, the cultivators and agricultural labourers will be covered under life insurance of Rs 2,00,000 and personal accident insurance of Rs 2,00,000. The farmers will also get interest free farm loan upto Rs 50,000.

Instead of announcing farm loan waiver the Government has preferred to declare the new scheme under the pretext that the loan waiver will only benefit 8 lakh farmers in the state and would put pressure on the exchequer of the state, while nearly 57 lakh farmer families would get the benefit under the ‘KALIA’ scheme. CM described the scheme as a progressive one.