Ahead of polls, Odisha extends farmer welfare scheme KALIA for another three years

Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the Odisha government decided to extend its farmers' welfare scheme 'KALIA' for another three years, sanctioning a total outlay of Rs 6,029.70 crore for the purpose.

The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday approved three proposals in this regard, Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain told reporters.

He said the state has been implementing the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme since 2018-19 as a majority of the population of the state is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood.

Similarly, the state had implemented the KALIA scholarship to ensure the educational development of the children of KALIA beneficiaries so that they avail of professional and technical education in different educational institutions, Swain said.

For hassle-free and smooth implementation of this welfare scheme and to bring the farmers into the financial mainstream and ensure their participation in the financial progress of the state, the cabinet has approved an estimated budget of Rs 6,029.70 crore for the upcoming three years (2024-25 to 2026-27) which aims at benefiting all the farm families under KALIA scheme, Swain said.

Beneficiary farmers used to get Rs 4,000 per year as KALIA assistance for undertaking cultivation.

The cabinet decided that eligible landless agricultural households that have already received all the instalments (Rs 12,500) will be provided with an additional financial assistance of Rs 2,000.

The minister said financial assistance is being provided to the KALIA beneficiaries twice in a year before the cropping seasons from April 1 onwards for the Kharif season and after September 1 for the Rabi season.

Now, the cabinet has decided to modify the release dates of the KALIA assistance as decided by the state government from time to time. The assistance for landless agricultural households will also be released at the same time, he added.

The Odisha cabinet, which has approved a total of 16 proposals, also accorded its nod for allotment of tenements to 515 eligible displaced families from erstwhile East Pakistan and Burma repatriates free-of-cost, Chief Secretary PK Jena said in the press conference.

These displaced persons from erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) and Burma repatriates have settled in the Sunabeda municipality area in Koraput district since 1964. Now they will have a permanent title and ownership over the land and structures existing over such land, he said.

The Odisha government has also decided to make the recently released Hindi movie '12th Fail' tax-free.

The theme of the film carries a strong message of being determined in the face of all adverse situations and never losing hope, Jena said.

Further, the cabinet has decided to amend the Odisha Semiconductor Manufacturing and Fabless Policy, 2023.

As per the revised provisions, he said, mega projects exceeding Rs 500 crore in investment can now access an upper limit of Rs 25 crore per annum for a span of 7 years towards interest subsidy, as the previous 5 per cent capping for interest subvention has been eliminated.

Additionally, such mega projects are entitled to reimbursement of R&D expenditures up to Rs 2 crore annually for 10 years. In terms of skill development, eligible units will receive reimbursement of up to Rs 2 crore per annum for 5 years to facilitate the training of their employees engaged in core operations, the chief secretary added.