Maharashtra agri welfare schemes to follow 'first-come, first-served' rule

Mumbai, Oct 8 (PTI) The Maharashtra government has decided to replace the existing lottery system for farmer welfare schemes under the MahaDBT portal with a 'first-come, first-served' mechanism to ensure greater transparency and efficiency.

This decision will be implemented with retrospective effect from April 1 this year, officials from the state agriculture department said on Wednesday.

Under the revised procedure, applications submitted on the MahaDBT portal will now be processed in the order of registration, enabling farmers to receive timely benefits. Pending applications left out in the lottery process earlier will also be considered under the 'first-come, first-served' principle.

Once selected, beneficiaries will be notified via SMS, following which they will have to upload the required documents on the portal within seven days, officials added.

If a farmer fails to avail of the scheme benefits within the stipulated period after receiving prior approval, the application will be cancelled and will not be reconsidered for any component during the same financial year.

The agriculture department has urged farmers to carefully follow all updated instructions on the MahaDBT portal to avoid disqualification.

Farmers found submitting false or misleading information or forged documents will be immediately disqualified from the scheme and barred from availing benefits under any agriculture department scheme for the next five years, the officials said. PTI ND NSK