Bhubaneswar, Sep 1 (PTI) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday disbursed Rs 869 crore for the state's 41.85 lakh farmers, under its KALIA scheme, and assured them of additional aid for crop losses suffered in the recent floods.

According to an official, an amount of Rs 2,000 each was directly transferred to the bank accounts of 41 lakh small and marginal farmers and other 85,000 landless farmers in Odisha under the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme for Rabi crop.

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The state government had in 2018 launched the KALIA scheme, under which the farmers are given Rs 4,000 in two equal instalments.

"Today, on the occasion of Nuakhai, the second installment was paid to farmers," a senior official said.

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The first instalment was disbursed on Akshaya Tritiya, he added.

Patnaik, on the occasion, said, "Nuakhai is the festival of Mother Earth. Mother Earth blesses us with resources that are made available to use through the hard work of our farming communityThey are our pride and glory."

Talking about the scheme, he said, "It has given hope and confidence to small farmers. It also helps protect the livelihood of landless farmers."

The CM assured the farmers of additional assistance for crop losses in recent floods that hit the state.

He directed the officials to complete crop damage assessment at the earliest.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)