Farm subsidies in cash: Telangana tenant farmers fight for Rs 8,000 aid

Hyderabad: Farmland rental agreements have come to a halt in Telangana raising serious concerns that the Kharif production will be badly hit this year as land owners and tenant farmers fight to claim the Rs 8,000 per acre financial assistance scheme of the government.

About 15 lakh tenant farmers are demanding that land owners reduce the rents since the land owners are claiming Rs 8,000 per acre from the government despite not doing the cultivation themselves. Tenant farmers want the owners either to pass on some portion of the government sop to them, or reduce the rent proportionately. Normally, rental agreements are drawn up before Ugadi. 

Though one month has passed since Ugadi on March 18, no agreements have been drawn up.  The TS government will give the Rs 8,000 per acre per year financial assistance to those in whose names the agriculture lands are registered under the ‘Rythu Bandu’ scheme.

The aim of the scheme is to ease farmers’ distress, but tenant farmers argue that the purpose of the scheme is being defeated as the beneficiaries are the owners and not the tenants who till the land, bear any losses and this need the assistance. 

Agriculture secretary C. Parthasarathi confirmed that there is no provision to give the assistance to tenant farmers.