12 lakh ineligible Assam 'farmers' get aid under PM-KISAN, HC told

Guwahati, Feb 17 (IANS) The Assam government has told the Gauhati High Court that around 12 lakh ineligible farmers obtained financial assistance under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme in the state, a court official said on Thursday.Hearing a public interest litigation filed by NGO Amguri Naba Nirman Samity, a division bench of Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Soumitra Saikia asked the Assam government earlier this week to file a full status report on the issue in the court.Earlier an affidavit, filed before the court by the Agriculture Department, had stated that following a departmental probe in 2020 had found that 11.72 lakh ineligible farmers had received financial assistance under the PM-KISAN scheme, and the state government had taken steps to recover the money from those people.The affidavit also apprised the court that a process has been initiated against those officials who were involved in these wrongdoings and FIRs have been filed against some officials.The court fixed April 5 for the next hearing of the PIL.The PM-KISAN scheme was launched in 2019 and it provides Rs 6,000 in three installments of Rs 2,000 per farmer. The financial assistance is transferred directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
--IANS sc/vd

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