No aid for over 96,000 Maharashtra farmers due to non-linking of Aadhaar with accounts

Nagpur: As many as 96,811 farmers in Maharashtra could not receive assistance under the 'Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi Yojana' because their bank accounts and Aadhaar numbers were not linked, state Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde told the legislative assembly in Thursday.

The Maharashtra government has rolled the scheme to provide financial aid to farmers, in addition to the amount paid to them under the Centre's Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana.

Munde in a written reply in the House here said out of the total list of beneficiaries who receive funds under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, as many as 96,811 bank account holders, who were to get benefit of the state scheme, could not receive the money because their Aadhaar number and bank account were not linked till October 26 this year.

Work is in progress to link the farmers' bank accounts and Aadhaar numbers, he said in reply to a question asked by AIMIM legislator Mufti Mohammad Ismail Abdul Khalik during the ongoing winter session of the state legislature.

The minister said beneficiaries have to personally approach the local government office and complete the bank account and Aadhaar number linking process.

Once the linking is completed, the scheme's benefits would continue to the beneficiaries, he said.