LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said that the direct benefit transfer (DBT) under Kisan Samman Nidhi and farm loan waiver scheme are among the several steps taken by his government that helped in changing the perception about UP and would allow the ruling BJP to get a clear mandate in the Lok Sabha elections.Presenting his government’s report card on completion of two years in office on Tuesday, Yogi said that the Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme was like a ‘Ram Baan’ that would benefit over one crore farmers in the state. Likewise, the farm loan waiver scheme was initiated to help 86 lakh farmers to come out of debt trap.Yogi said that the average loan waived per farmer has come out to nearly Rs 60,000.“Earlier, indebted farmers were forced to commit suicide. They (farmers) have started looking at us with hope now,’’ Yogi said, while speaking to reporters at UP BJP office in the city.Yogi categorically slammed the opposition parties, accusing them of being responsible for the cane arrears which got piled up over the years during previous Samajwadi Party (SP) rule. “The cane arrears kept mounting but the then state government did nothing to address the situation. We faced the challenges successfully and in the last 24 months, we managed to change the perception about the state,” he said.The CM said that even the policy for giving adequate minimum support price (MSP) was rolled out for the farmers in the present BJP regime.“Earlier, the middlemen were dominant over purchase policy. The state government was not able to purchase directly from the farmers. But in our government, nearly 42 lakh metric tonnes of wheat was purchased directly from the farmers in 2017-18 alone,’’ he said.Yogi also said that the state government and the BJP organisation were able to establish a better coordination in a bid to reach out to the people through welfare schemes.The state government rose above caste and religious lines to reach out to the people through various government schemes, he added.The CM said that his government also initiated steps for the welfare of the women and girl child. “While under Ujjawala Yojana, 1.12 crore free gas connections were given, a sum of Rs 200 crores as a revolving fund was marked for women self-help groups,” he said, adding that a special helpline to address complaints related to dowry was also set up.

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