PM KISAN: How Aadhar glitches prevent farmers from availing benefits in Telangana

Figures reveal that nearly 38.1 percent of farmers were unable to receive installments under PM KISAN due to Aadhar verification problems. Around 26.3 percent were those who faced `Bank Rejection issues'. Payment of seven percent beneficiaries was stopped.

LibTech India, an organization focusing on transparency, said the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, also known as PM KISAN has benefited around 37,73,259 farmers in the state. (For the report click here).

There are 38,40,670 farmers registered in Telangana. Around Rs. 5,311.12 crore has been disbursed among the beneficiaries.

Around 67,411 (1.75%) farmers didn't receive any benefits. Around 360,199 (9.3 percent) farmers received at least one installment.

PM KISAN scheme was launched by the government of India in 2018 to provide income support to farming families. Under this scheme, each farmer's family is entitled to receive Rs 6000 per annum. This amount is paid in 3 installments of Rs 2000 each through direct benefit transfers (DBT) to their bank account. All accounts are verified through various steps including valid Aadhar cards and bank accounts.

Many farmers are unable to receive the benefits owing to delays in approval, data errors, Aadhar based rejections, and other transaction failures beyond.

According to LibTech, nearly two-thirds of the cases of missing installments are due to bank-related or Aadhar related reasons.

Interestingly a significant number of farmers have missed installments as they are ineligible for the benefits (like income tax payee etc). It is unusually high in some districts. When a farmer is considered ineligible, they should have received zero installments. However, very few farmers have received zero installments.

LibTech also pointed out that the benefits of the PM KISAN were received by the majority of the registered farmers from the state. However, the number of farmers registered itself is an issue considering the fact that the state-sponsored Rythu Bandhu has nearly 25 lakh more farmers.

"Twenty-five lakh is a huge number. Eligible farmers from the state are losing money from the central government schemes. It's high time that the state government reviews the scheme and ensure all the eligible farmers receive the benefits under PM KISAN," said LibTech.

LibTech noted the state should launch a campaign to encourage farmers to register themselves to avail benefits. "We recommend the agriculture department to seek help from the Department of Panchayat and Rural Development. The department has attained considerable experience after resolving Bank Rejection issues' in MGNREGA," said Lib Tech.