With monsoon showers across the State slowly getting the soil ready for sowing operations, landholding farmers are set to start getting investment support of ₹5,000 for acre under the Rythu Bandhu scheme from Monday for taking up Vanakalam (kharif) cultivation without scurrying for the initial input costs.
About 70 lakh farmers with a landholding of over 1.54 crore acres are expected to get an amount of ₹7,720.29 crore in the direct benefit transfer method with the State government crediting the amount directly to the bank accounts of farmers based on the extent of landholding, starting from holdings up to one acre getting the benefit on Day One.
Minister for Agriculture S. Niranjan Reddy said on Sunday that the Rythu Bandhu benefits disbursement for the 11th phase (agricultural season) would include about 5 lakh new beneficiaries after their landholding gets included for the scheme with the extent removed from the list of lands with disputes. The new beneficiaries would include about 1.5 lakh podu farmers who would be getting RoFR pattas from June 30 for an extent of nearly 4.06 lakh acres.
The inclusion of about 5 lakh new beneficiaries would require about ₹300 crore for extending the benefits. For 11 agricultural seasons starting with 2018-19 Kharif, the State government has credited ₹65,190 crore to the bank accounts of landholding farmers. The Minister suggested to the farmers, who would be getting the benefit for the first time this season, to contact the local agriculture officials with the details of their bank accounts.
Stating that Telangana was the only State in the country providing ₹10,000 per-acre investment support every year, ₹5,000 each for two agricultural seasons, the Minister said 24x7 free power to agricultural pump sets, water for irrigation without any cess, Rythu Bima and others were ample proof of Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao’s concern for the farming community.
On the criticism of the Opposition parties that the Kaleshwaram project had not created irrigation potential even for an acre, the Minister sought to know from them how Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala governments were seeking supply of rice from Telangana for their needs. He stated that a phenomenal increase in the production of paddy had become possible only with Kaleshwaram water reaching the new as well as existing ayacut.
