EC Allows Release Of Second Tranche Of PM-KISAN But No New Beneficiaries After Model Code Of Conduct Enforced

Election Commission of India (ECI) has given its approval to release the second tranche of PM-KISAN scheme from 1 April (2019) though no new names can be added to the beneficiary list before the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into force on 10 March 2019, reports Indian Express.

The Commission asked the government to follow the instructions specified in its 2009 circular which states that “beneficiary projects where specific beneficiaries by name have been identified before coming of the Model Code of Conduct into force.”

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Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, the government will transfer Rs 6,000 in three instalments of Rs 2,000 each to the bank accounts of approximately ten crore small farmers who own less than two hectares of land. They constitute 86.21 per cent of all the farmers in India and collectively own 47.34 per cent of the land.

This farmers’ income support scheme is expected to help farmers save more on an average, and the programme will also help those who cultivate land under formal, informal or oral contracts as tenants apart from small land-owning farmers.

Politics Comes In The Way

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley recently criticised states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka and West Bengal which did not cooperate in the PM Kisan scheme. It is alleged that these states, which are ruled by Opposition parties, did not participate in the project because of narrow political considerations.

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