70 lakh Telangana farmers to get medical cover

KARIMNAGAR: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday kicked off his campaign for the next election by announcing Rs 5 lakh medical insurance for farmers. He chose Karimnagar town, which played a crucial role in the Telangana  agitation, to make the announcement. 

He recalled that the TRS’ first meeting ‘Simha Garjana’ was organised in Karimnagar in 2001 demanding that the Central government create a separate Telangana state. Addressing the Regional Rythu Samanvaya Committees awareness meeting, he announced that 70 lakh farmers would be brought under insurance cover, with the state government paying the premium.   

The Telangana Rashtra Samiti is probably the first political party in the country that has an accident insurance scheme for farmers. 

TRS members have been getting insurance cover for some time and families of those who died in accidents have been paid the insurance. Mr Rao said the modalities of the insurance scheme are being worked out. He said that nearly 1.62 lakh acres of land is under cultivation in Telangana.

“Revolutionary changes are likely to take place in agriculture in Telangana with the decisions being taken by the state government to make agriculture profitable, unlike in the past,” he said. 

He said the mandal level Rythu Samanvaya Committees will offer MSP for crops purchased from  farmers if the market price was poor and the committees will sell the produce whenever the price increases in the internal or national markets.

Officials estimated that at Rs 1,000 per farmer, the insurance scheme will cost the state exchequer Rs 700 crore per year. 

The '8,000 per acre handout to farmers will cost the state Rs 12,000 crore per year, taking the total burden to Rs 12,700 crore per year, exclusively for the benefit of farmers.