The ruling BJD on Wednesday claimed that 32,000 ineligible beneficiaries availed financial assistance under the state's flagship Kalia scheme, a day after state Agriculture and Farmer Empowerment Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo said that there were 3.41 fake beneficiaries.
BJD spokesman P K Deb rejected the Agriculture and Farmer Empowerment minister's statement made on Tuesday that 3.41 lakh fake beneficiaries have been provided over Rs 170 crore under the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (Kalia) scheme.
Deb claimed that the number of fake Kalia beneficiaries were 32,000 and not 3.41 lakh as stated by the minister.
The BJD spokesman said: "12,000 large farmers and 20,000 government employees and pension holders are fake beneficiaries."