In what could be major pre-poll sop, the Odisha cabinet on Thursday approved an estimated budget of ₹6,029.70 crores for the next three years (2024-25 to 2026-27) under the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA), a farmer incentive programme.
According to the cabinet note, the State had implemented a farmers’ welfare scheme KALIA from 2018-19, as majority of the population of the State directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood.
The KALIA scheme which was announced prior to 2019 election had proved game changer for the Naveen Patnaik government as support for the regional party had swelled due to direct cash transfer scheme for farmers.
It was aimed at accelerating the prosperity and progress of agriculture and alleviating the poverty of farmers, and landless agricultural households. Under the scheme, financial assistance of ₹25,000 per farm family over five seasons is provided to small and marginal farmers so that so that farmers can purchase inputs like seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, and use assistance towards labour and other investments.
Financial assistance of ₹12,500 is also provided to each landless agricultural household for agricultural allied activities like for small goat rearing unit, mini-layer unit, duckery units, fishery kits for fisherman, mushroom cultivation, and bee-keeping.
There are other assists such as interest free crop loan, life insurance for cultivators, and landless agricultural laborers and vulnerable agricultural households under KALIA.
“Besides, the State had implemented KALIA scholarship under Farmers’ Welfare KALIA Scheme to ensure educational development of the children of KALIA beneficiaries to avail professional or technical education in different educational institutions, as the future of the farmers family depends on the development of their children,” the note reads.
Assistances are usually released April 1 onwards for the Kharif season and September 1 onwards for the Rabi season. The cabinet now approved advance release of assistance.
According to political commentators, the decision to advance the release of assistance has been taken keeping in mind the model code of conduct which may come into force by early next month for simultaneous polls in the State.
The cabinet approved extension of State government Grant-in-Aid to eligible employees of non-government new-aided high schools and Sanskrit institutions on the basis of Odisha Revised Scale of Pay Rules, 2017 (7th Pay Commission).
