Rs 21 crore aid for 508 farmer families in Etawah under UP govt welfare scheme

Families of 508 farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Etawah received more than Rs 21 crore in financial assistance during the 2025-26 financial year under the Chief Minister's Farmer Accident Welfare Scheme.

The scheme provides financial assistance of up to Rs 5 lakh to the families of farmers who die or suffer permanent disability in farming-related or other accidents. Its coverage has also been expanded to include not just landholding farmers but also sharecroppers, lessees and landless agricultural labourers.

Several families in Jaswantnagar assembly constituency said the financial assistance had provided them some relief after losing their primary breadwinners.

FAMILY RECEIVES RS 5 LAKH FOUR MONTHS AFTER DEATH

Prem Singh, a resident of Nagla Banshi village in the Jaswantnagar area, died in a road accident around eight months ago. He was around 53 and was on his way to collect fodder for his buffaloes when a motorcycle hit him from behind near the Bhognipur canal.

Singh fell into a ditch following the collision. Local residents informed his family, following which his elder brother Harishchandra Jatav took him to the district hospital in Etawah. Doctors declared him dead during treatment.

Singh is survived by his wife, three daughters and two sons. One of his daughters is married, while the other two are around 19 and 21 years old. His two sons are minors.

Singh owned around five bighas of land and his death left the family facing financial difficulties.

The family learnt about the welfare scheme from local residents. The village lekhpal helped them with the application and collected the required documents, including Aadhaar, photographs and land records. The application was then submitted online.

Officials subsequently visited the family's home for verification. Around four months later, Rs 5 lakh was credited to Singh's wife Phool Devi's bank account.

The family said they did not face any major difficulties during the process and did not have to make repeated trips to government offices.

AID TO HELP WITH DAUGHTERS' WEDDINGS

Phool Devi's family said the financial assistance had improved their situation to some extent and would help with the weddings of her daughters. Her two minor sons are continuing their education.

The family, however, is also facing a housing problem as their old room has been damaged. Phool Devi said she hoped to receive a house under a government housing scheme.

ANOTHER FAMILY RECEIVES RS 5 LAKH

In another case, Ramnarayan Sharma of Nagri village in Jaswantnagar died in a road accident at the age of around 68.

Sharma had travelled to Firozabad to buy medicines on September 20, 2025. While returning, he was crossing a road near his village when an unidentified vehicle hit him. He died at the spot and was later taken to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

After the post-mortem, his family applied for assistance under the scheme.

His son Harishchandra said the family learnt about the scheme through a mobile phone. They submitted an online application along with Aadhaar, land records and a bank passbook. The then village lekhpal, Neha Yadav, also helped them with the process.

The three brothers submitted an affidavit as part of the application. According to the family, Rs 5 lakh was credited to their account within around six months.

The family owns around 15 bighas of agricultural land. Ramnarayan is survived by his three sons.

508 FAMILIES GET FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Narendra Kumar, in-charge of the LRC department in Etawah, said 508 farmers died across the district's tehsils during the 2025-26 financial year and their families were provided financial assistance under the Chief Minister's Farmer Accident Welfare Scheme.

A total of Rs 21.10 crore was disbursed to the families, he said.

The assistance is intended to provide financial support to families that lose their earning members in accidents, particularly those left vulnerable after the death of the family's primary breadwinner.