Telangana Farmer Unions Demand Tenant Rights in ROR Draft Bill Revision
By : G. Ram Mohan
Update: 2024-08-11 16:15 GMT
Hyderabad: Farmer unions, while welcoming several provisions of the Record of Rights (ROR) draft Bill, pointed out to the lack of recognition of tenant farmers' rights. They want reinstatement of Section 26 of the Passbooks Act 1971, which records the name of the actual tiller and mortgagee, as it would benefit tenant farmers.
The column was removed to pass the ROR Act 2020 by the BRS government. The unions opine that this section is needed to identify tenant farmers in order to help them avail institutional loans, provide crop insurance, procure seeds and other inputs on subsidy.
According to the farmer unions Section 10 (3) of the 2024 draft Bill, which says the pattadar passbook-cum-title deed issued under the ROR Act 2020 shall be deemed valid under Sub-Section 17 of Section 2, thereby denying tenant farmers a separate passbook, which was issued to them before the BRS government changed the rule.
An official said that identification of tenant farmers would depend on the recommendations of the cabinet sub-committee on rythu bharosa. The Congress had promised to give tenant farmers Rythu Bharosa assistance of `15,000 per acre per year as part of its six guarantees.
According to farmer unions, the best template for identifying tenant farmers was the Licensed Cultivators Act, 2011 under which gram sabhas could identify them.
“K. Chandrasekhar Rao watered down the Act and the condition of tenant farmers deteriorated with an increase in tenancy rates. It is no wonder that 80 per cent of the suicide deaths of farmers are of tenant farmers,” said B. Kondal Reddy of Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV).
“The agriculture minister has been saying that the land owners are not keen to recognise tenant farmers in writing. The owners will never agree and the government should implement the 2011 law,” said Sarampally Malla Reddy, All India Kisan Sabha state president.
He said that approaching collectors and the chief commissioner of land administration (CCLA) was difficult for farmers and a nodal officer should be appointed at the district level and a tribunal formed at the state level for appeals.