Telangana releases third tranche of Rythu Bharosa

Hyderabad: The state government on Monday released a third tranche of Rs 1,091 crore to farmers having up to two acres of land, thereby completing the process of depositing the enhanced Rythu Bharosa assistance for this category.

With this, the government has covered 34.69 lakh beneficiaries who cultivate an area of 36.97 lakh acres. The cost to the state exchequer so far has been Rs 2,218.49 crore.

The government is paying Rs 6,000 per acre per season, Rs 1,000 more than the Rythu Bandhu of the BRS government.

The largest number of beneficiaries was from Siddipet district, followed by Nalgonda and Sangareddy.

While 1,86,241 farmers in Siddipet received Rs 116.26 crore, 1,85,545 farmers from Nalgonda Rs 113.33 crore and 1,82,453 farmers from Sangareddy received a cumulative Rs 106.77 crore. The smallest number of beneficiaries was in Medchal-Malkajgiri district, where Rs 3.82 crore was deposited into the bak accounts of 4,931 farmers.

In a media release, agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao said the state government had so far spent Rs 55,526 crore for farmers. Of this, Rs 40,000 crore was deposited directly into the accounts of farmers, he said.

“Is there a state government which has spent so much for farmer welfare after independence,” Nageswara Rao asked. “The BRS which calls our loan waiver incomplete should clarify how they implemented the waiver which started in 2018.”

The minister said that as the BRS government delayed implementation of the waiver until 2023, farmers had to pay Rs 8,315 crore in interest. The BRS completed the process only in the election year, and covered only half the beneficiaries.

“How much did the BRS spend during its ten-year rule and how much did we spend in just over a year of our rule. Can the BRS come to the farmers and speak on this,” Nageswara Rao asked.

Giving the break-up, he said the Congress government had waived Rs 20,616.89 crore in the first crop season, benefiting 25,35,964 farmers. This was done without bartering any asset like the BRS government did by handing over a maintenance contract for the Outer Ring Road (ORR).

Asserting that the BRS was becoming a laughing stock before the farmers, Nageswara Rao asked if the BRS government had compensated farmers who lost their crops owing to calamities. Farmers lost around Rs 3,000 crore owing to the BRS government’s failure to give matching grants, he said, adding that it was a loss for farmers as the then government shut down all schemes after the launch of Rythu Bandhu.

The minister informed that the government had spent Rs 412.62 crore for procuring pigeon pea and other pulses at MSP rates and warned the BRS leaders will face backlash if they continue to lie on the matter.