The Madhya Pradesh government has directed district officials to identify and disqualify beneficiaries in cases where both the husband and wife from the same family are availing benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, The Indian Express has learnt. This comes after several such cases were reported from across the state.
On May 21, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare issued an SOP to be followed for necessary action in such cases.
On May 19, the state’s Commissioner, Land Records, wrote a letter to all district collectors to crack down on cases of multiple beneficiaries from the same family. The letter was written following video conferences on May 9 and May 16 by the Centre regarding the PM-KISAN scheme.
Under the scheme, eligible families are provided `6,000 per year in three equal instalments. As per clause 3 of the PM-KISAN scheme guidelines, “A landholding farmer family is defined as a family consisting of husband, wife, and minor children who own cultivable land as per the land records of the concerned State/UT.”
The Commissioner’s letter said, “During the aforementioned video conferences, it was highlighted that more than one member of the same family (both husband and wife) is availing the scheme benefits. It was directed that such cases be identified and both members be marked ineligible on the PM-KISAN portal by May 31, 2025.”
“This will allow for adjustment of the excess amount received and ensure that only the rightful amount is credited to one member of the family in future instalments,” the letter read.
A government official said district officials were directed to prepare a beneficiary list, weed out those who don’t qualify under the scheme through physical visits. “In cases where both the husband and wife are availing benefits, they should be marked ineligible.”
A senior official from Betul district told , “We have identified 13,000 such cases… there were people from the same family taking benefits of the scheme multiple times. This is an ongoing exercise… the accounts will be adjusted.”
Officials said the exercise should be carried out before the 20th instalment of PM-KISAN payments due to be released in the first week of June 2025.
The SOP issued by the Centre, a de-duplication exercise is to be carried out using Aadhaar-linked KYC details of beneficiaries and PDS data. In cases with more than one beneficiary linked, the officials have to filter where the members are registered, and whether they are related.
Once the total number of instalments transferred to a pair of beneficiaries identified as husband and wife is adjusted against the cumulative entitlement, “the female beneficiary may be reinstated, subject to eligibility”.
“Their land ownership details should be re-verified, using the Farmer ID or relevant land documents,” the SOP said.
