KAKINADA: There is a growing demand to include tenant farmers belonging to Other Castes in the Rythu Bharosa Scheme being implemented by the state government.
The state government gives Rs 13,500 to all farmers belonging to all castes. But in the matter of tenant farmers, the scheme is applied only to BCs, SCs, STs and minorities. Farmers belonging to other castes have been excluded from the beneficiary list.
The tenant farmers from among the OCs argue that they are also losing heavily in the event of natural calamities and their economic woes are similar to that of other tenant farmers. There is also pressure on elected representatives of the ruling party to make the state government concede the demand.
“Agriculture is not at all profitable to any farmer and economically not viable due to reasons like national calamities, drought and other factors. Remunerative price is given to crops, except Minimum Support Price (MSP). Many land owners gave up their cultivation and give their lands for lease to tenant farmers. How and why the government is differentiating between the tenant farmers caste wise,’’ asked G Pattabhi of Amalapuram of Konaseema district.
According to official sources, there are nearly 1.80 lakh tenant farmers in erstwhile East Godavari district, out of which nearly 20,000 tenant farmers are availing the Rythu Bharosa scheme for BCs, STs, SCs and minorities.
Agriculture district officer of Kakinada Vijaya Kumar said if the tenant farmer is having own land, he is not eligible for the RBS.
The tenant farmers are facing another problem in that the land owners officially did not give lease papers to the tenant farmers due to likely legal problems in future. Officials and the government made it clear that there would not be any legal problem.
In recent Zilla Parishad meeting, the ruling party’s Jaggampet MLA Jyothula Chantibabu raised the issue and demanded that the government include tenant farmers belonging to OCs in the Rythu Bharosa Scheme. ruling party MLC Thota Trimurthulu has supported the demand.
