K Chandrasekhar Rao's gift: Farmers to get Rs 8,000 every year

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday announced a financial aid for farmers of Rs 8,000 per acre, without any upper cap, on land every year. Of this, Rs 4,000 will be paid in the kharif season and another Rs 4,000 in rabi, per acre.

The money will be credited directly into the bank accounts of the farmers, once every season. All farmers, irrespective of how much land they own, are eligible for the benefit.

Disclosing the details of the scheme at the TRS plenary meeting here, Mr Rao said, “There will be no restriction on farmers on how to spend the amount. They can buy fertilisers or pesticides or use it for any other agriculture activity to get better yield. It’s the choice of farmers.” Mr Rao said the scheme may impose a burden of up to Rs 8,000 crore per year on the exchequer but the government was willing to implement it keeping in view the larger interests of farmers and for revival of the rural economy.

‘97% farmers own less than 10 acres land’
Mr Rao said 62 per cent of farmers in Telangana state hold less than 2.5 acres, 24 per cent own land between 2.5 and 5 acres, 11 per cent own between 5 and 10 acres, less than 3 per cent own between 10 and 25 acres and only 0.88 per cent own above 25 acres.

“These statistics reveal that 97 per cent of farmers own land of less than 10 acres. Only 3 per cent have land holdings of above 10 acres. For this reason, we have decided to extend the scheme to all farmers irrespective of their land holdings like we did for crop loan waiver and free power schemes,” he added. Mr Rao said farmers associations will be set up in each village to monitor the scheme.

“Farmers associations will identify each farmer by verifying their land holdings as per revenue records with the assistance of village agriculture officer and village revenue officer. After approval by all the three, the list of beneficiaries will be uploaded on the website. Bank accounts will be opened for all beneficiaries and amount will be credited twice a year for two crop seasons,” he said. Mr Rao also modified the recently announced Rs 4,000 free fertiliser scheme and renamed it crop investment subsidy scheme.