CM raises tenant farmers hopes on Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao's announcement on Thursday extending financial assistance to tenant farmers for the first time marks the BRS government's complete shift from its earlier stand that it would not recognize tenant farmers and would only provide government benefits to those who own land.

Rao has been adopting a tough stand against tenant farmers since he became CM in 2014. In accordance with the BRS government's stand on tenant farmers, Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima were extended to those who own agricultural land from 2018.

There has been a long-pending demand from tenant farmers to extend these benefits to them since they were doing agriculture, incurring expenditure and also facing losses in the event of natural calamities. According to official estimates, the state has over 15 lakh tenant farmers, and the CM's announcement has raised the hopes of tenant farmers of availing Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima benefits.

In the past, the "pattadar" passbook given to landowners included a space for tenant farmers to note that the tenant farmer is cultivating the land while the owner is someone else. Based on it, banks used to lend crop loans to farmers, and the government used to extend financial aid in the event of crop loss.

However, the CM amended the Revenue Act in 2018 to remove tenant farmer's column from the ‘pattadar passbook’. He issued new digital ‘pattadar’ passbooks in 2018 having only land owners name and extending Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima only to land owners even if that particular land is cultivated by tenant farmers.