Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday disbursed Rs 1,293.75 crore under the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme and announced an extension of the programme for three more years.
The disbursed amount included Rs 933 crore as 11th instalment of KALIA assistance for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to 45.67 lakh Small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs) and 40,000 Landless Agricultural Households (LAHs) for the Kharif season.
An additional assistance of more than Rs 360 crore was disbursed for 18,03,401 eligible landless agricultural households. The farmers, who have already received all three installments (Rs.12,500 in total) of their livelihood cash support under the scheme, will get Rs 2,000 for this Kharif season.
The Chief Minister announced that the duration of KALIA Yojana has been extended till 2026-27. “The government will spend Rs 6,030 crore for this,” he said adding that every farming family should live with dignity, be strong and contribute to the prosperity of Odisha.
He also inaugurated 30 Kalia Centres which would provide technical assistance related to farming in all the districts. “It will work as innovation and resource centres,” the CM said.
Naveen announced Kalia scholarship for children of farming families studying in renowned educational institutions like NIT, IIT, IIM, AIIMS, ICAR and other private vocational and professional educational institutions of the state and outside.
Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Ranendra Pratap said the KALIA scheme has been highly appreciated at the national level and has helped the farmers of Odisha.
