Kolkata:
A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah blamed Mamata Banerjee of not giving Rs 6000 to farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, the West Bengal chief minister Monday shot off a letter to the union agriculture minister for transferring the requisite fund for disbursement among farmers. In her letter to Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Banerjee recalled a similar correspondence from her side in September and said the Cemtre’s decision on implementation of the scheme in West Bengal and transferring the requisite fund for disbursement to the farmers through the state government machinery is still awaited.
Stating that West Bengal is already implementing a direct fund transfer scheme to the farmers including share croppers with death benefit schemes, the letter said ”I once again request you to kindly arrange to transfer the requisite farm to the state.” After disbursement, the list of farmer beneficiaries will be sent to Tomar for his information, the letter said. Commenting on TMC’s support to the ongoing farmers’ protest, Amit Shah had said in Bolpur that while the West Bengal is not giving Rs 6,000 to each farmer, Banerjee is supporting the farmers’ protests.
The union home minister had said in Bolpur that 23 lakh farmers from Bengal have requested online for PM-KISAN Samman Nidhi. ”Mamatadi still prevents them by not giving them actual certification! She is not even sending a list of farmers to the Centre.” Several other state and central BJP leaders had criticised Banerjee of being a stumbling block in the implementation of the scheme in West Bengal and thus depriving the farmer community here. In her earlier letter to Tomar in September on the same issue, Banerjee had said ”We will be happy to provide benefits to the farmers under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, and in that case, the Central government may transfer the requisite fund direct to the state government for further disbursement with full responsibility to the beneficiaries through the state government machinery.” Apart from Shah, several state and central BJP leaders had criticised the CM of acting as the stumbling block of implementing the scheme in Bengal thereby depriving the farmer community here.
