Hyderabad: The state government, which is paying Rs 4,000 per acre per season to farmers, owes the community Rs 1,500 crore in the form of money not paid for purchasing paddy.
The state achieved record paddy production during the Rabi season this year, and the government procured foodgrains from farmers at the top end of the minimum support price (MSP) by setting up thousands of procurement centres in all districts.
However, it has failed to credit the amount in the bank accounts of farmers even after two months.
Against the Rythu Bandhu Scheme sop of Rs 4,000 per acre, the government has withheld payments of amounts ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh to each farmer on average. This is forcing them to rely on private financiers for loans for Kharif operations, defeating the very purpose of the Rythu Bandhu Scheme.
Farmers are angry with the goverment, saying that they were not asking for loans from the government but were seeking payment which they are legally entitled to after the sale of paddy.
With the onset of monsoon, farmers are running around banks in all districts to withdraw money only to find that not a single rupee had been credited even after two months.
In some cases where the money is partially credited, the banks are refusing to give cash citing a crunch. Other banks are restricting withdrawals to Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 a day.
Nalgonda district has highest arrears of Rs 210 crore followed by Janagoan (Rs 150 crore), Nizamabad (Rs 130 crore), Kamareddy (Rs 123 crore), Bhongir (Rs 106 crore) and Jagitial (Rs 100 crore).
