Agartala, Jun 26 (PTI): Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday claimed that the average monthly income of farmers in the state has doubled to Rs 13,590 from Rs 6,580 in 2015-16.
Speaking at a programme in West Tripura’s Bamutia, he said the current dispensation takes proactive measures for the benefit of farmers.
“A farmer’s income in Tripura has doubled from Rs 6,580 in 2015-16 to Rs 13,590 at present due to several measures taken by our government,” he said.
The northeastern state produces 12 lakh tonnes of rice, 364 tonnes of wheat and over 17,000 tonnes of pulses annually, the CM said.
“Several initiatives have been taken to ensure the welfare of farmers who are feeding us round the year. Our government has started producing paddy directly from the farmers at an MSP of Rs 23.69 per kg. It ends the role of middlemen,” he said.
Saha said that since 2018, the government has procured 2,61,227 tonnes of paddy from 2,35,356 farmers at Rs 529.81 crore.
“A negative campaign was run when Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched ‘Jana Dhan’ accounts, but now the farmers and marginalised people are receiving money through direct benefit transfer,” he said, adding that under the PM KISAN scheme, 2.13 lakh farmers of the state have received Rs 46.35 crore in the latest instalment on June 20.
Saha appealed the farmers to register their names with the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department and procure unique identity cards to get the benefits of the double-engine government.
“Several welfare schemes have been launched to improve the socio-economic conditions of farmers. So far, only 64,074 farmers have registered their names and got unique identity cards.
I appeal to the farmers to complete the process in order to get various benefits from the government,” he said.
Saha also exhorted the officials to undertake extensive awareness campaigns across the state to sensitise the farmers about the welfare schemes available for them.
