Aid for Telangana farmers under 'Rythu Bandhu' scheme

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekar Rao said that over Rs 7,500 crore would be disbursed to 61.49 lakh farmers in the state under 'Rythu Bandhu' scheme.

Hyderabad: Over Rs 7,500 crore would be disbursed to 61.49 lakh farmers in the state Telangana under the TRS government's 'Rythu Bandhu' financial assistance scheme from Monday, Chief Minister K Chandrasekar Rao said.

A sum of Rs 7,515 crore would be given to 1.52 crore acres of cultivated lands of 61.49 lakh farmers at the rate of Rs 5,000 per acre for the 2020 summer season, he announced after a review meeting on the scheme.

Rao instructed the officials concerned to ensure that every farmer gets the assistance in his bank account directly for each acre, a release from his office said.

At the meeting, officials said farmers can sell their crop anywhere under the new farm laws and the state government need not set up purchase centres in villages.

They also noted the government incurred losses because it bought the product by paying minimum support price (MSP) but sold at lower rates in markets due to lack of demand.

The review meeting extensively discussed matters including regulated farming policy, sale and purchase of agriculture produce in the markets, making available required seed and fertilisers in adequate quantity on time, transfer of required technical knowledge to the farmers.

Ever since Telangana state was formed, the government had incurred losses to the tune of Rs 7,500 crore due to purchase of various crops by the state government, officials said at the meeting, the release said.

"Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the government had set up purchasing centres in villages itself and purchased the agriculture produce on a humanitarian consideration that farmers should not suffer losses.

"It is not possible to do the same thing every time. The government is not a business organisation or trader. It is not a Rice miller or a Dal miller. Sale and purchase is not the responsibility of government. It is not possible to set up purchase centre in the village from next year onwards," the participants at the meeting unanimously stated, the release said.

"The new farm laws being implemented in the country allowed the farmers to sell their crop anywhere.

Hence, the state government need not set up the purchase centre in the villages... But sale and purchase at the agriculture markets should be done properly," it said.

Farmers and officials should meet regularly at the Rythu Vedikas, a platform for them, being set up across the state, it said adding they should discuss and decide on which crops should be cultivated based on the market conditions.

The official also said the government should forthwith stop issuing guidelines on the crops to be cultivated and the farmers themselves should decide.

"There is no need for the Regulatory Farming policy.

Farmers should decide by themselves what crops they should cultivate. They should sell their produce wherever it gets a more price. And this policy is good, the meeting opined, according to the release.