Hyderabad: After the sun and the rain, which caused crop damage to various extents, it was finally time for farmers to rejoice as the government credited the Rythu Bandhu aid along with a crop loan waiver, sparking euphoria among agricultural families.
Farmers expressed their gratitude to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao for implementing both the schemes successfully and simultaneously, by spending thousands of crores of rupees despite severe financial constraints.
“It shows the sincerity and commitment of the CM for the welfare of farmers and for fulfilling the promise made to farmers on waiving crop loans of up to Rs 1 lakh,” a farmer said.
The state government completed the 11th phase of Rythu Bandhu transfers for the ongoing kharif season by disbursing Rs 7,625 crore to the accounts of 68.99 lakh farmers. The disbursement started on June 26, covering farmers owning up to five acres. Due to a fund crunch, there was a delay in implementing the scheme for farmers owning six acres and above.
So far, the government has transferred Rs 72,815 crore to farmers accounts in 11 phases of Rythu Bandhu since May 2018, under which Rs 5,000 per acre is extended for each kharif and rabi season.
Farmer B. Aravind Reddy, who owns 20 acres in Nalgonda district and resides in Amberpet, said he received Rs 1 lakh under Rythu Bandhu in his account on Wednesday.
“There were reports that farmers owning more than 10 acres will not get Rythu Bandhu as the state government was facing fund crunch. I was worried. But CM Chandrashekar Rao proved this wrong by disbursing the amount to all the farmers, irrespective of the extent of land holding. I received Rs 1 lakh on Wednesday. There is a minor percentage of farmers in the state who own lands above 20 acres and below 100 acres, but all such farmers also received the amount,” he said.
Farmers in the Nalgonda district received the highest remittances, of Rs 609.67 crore, covering 5.87 lakh farmers while in Medchal-Malkajgiri, the disbursement was Rs 33.60 crore, covering 35,879 farmers, the lowest in the state. This kharif season, an additional five lakh farmers received Rythu Bandhu benefit, including 1.5 lakh farmers who received podu land pattas spanning over four lakh acres.
Similarly, the government has been disbursing crop loan waivers directly to the accounts of farmers since August 3. The Chief Minister promised to waive loans up to Rs 1 lakh and he released Rs 5,809 crore in one go last week to clear loans up to Rs 99,999 each. As many as 9,02,843 farmers who owe loans ranging from Rs 35,000 to Rs 99,999 benefitted in the past week.
The government is also planning to release Rs 13,000 crore to clear the loans of farmers who took loans above Rs 1 lakh. The government will clear a Rs 1 lakh loan, while the balance will be borne by farmers.
