Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik disbursed a COVID-19 package of Rs 386 crore for landless farmers under the “Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation” (KALIA ) Scheme.
According to the official reports, 18 lakh registered farmers will be benefited from the scheme and the money will be directly deposited in their bank accounts. And under the assistance, each landless farmer would get additional Rs 1,000 apart from the instalment under the KALIA scheme.
Under the KALIA scheme, registered farmers in the state get Rs 12,500 in three instalments.
While announcing the scheme, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik stated that the farmers, labourers and daily wages warmers are the backbone of our economy. He says that the entire state respects the sacrifices of the landless farmers behind all the successes of the agriculture sector and he has continuously demanded the implementation of recommendations made by the MS Swaminathan Committee and will continue to do so until it is met.
He further added that the COVID has had a profound effect on the economy and it was the agriculture sector in the first wave that saved our economy. The second wave of lockdowns has had a profound effect on people’s livelihoods. That is why the state government has announced COVID packages for various categories of people like farmers, labourers, street vendors, dairy farmers and others.
