About 66.60 lakh farmers, owning an aggregate 153 lakh acres, in Telangana will get ₹5,000 each for every acre they own. The disbursals will begin on Tuesday. The State Government has sanctioned ₹7,645 crore for the Rythu Bandhu disbursals.

Under the scheme, the State government will give ₹5,000 each to farmers for both kharif and rabi seasons. The farmers can use the amount for buying inputs for the ensuing season.

“The State Government has released ₹43,000 crore so far for the scheme in seven tranches. After the eight tranche this rabi, the total amount release would cross the ₹50,000-crore,” Telangana Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy has said.

The disbursals will directly be credited into the bank accounts of all the eligible farmers.

The farmers’ unions and non-governmental organisations working with farmers have been asking the Government to ease the norms to make tenant farmers eligible for the scheme.

Reluctant to include tenant farmers

At present, only the farmers with title deeds are eligible for the scheme.

“A good number of farmers in Telangana are tenant farmers. They too need financial assistance for purchasing inputs. Unlike the land-owning farmers, tenant farmers have additional overheads as they are supposed to pay rent. Besides, they don’t have access to institutional credit,” a farmers’ leader has said.

The State Government, however, is reluctant to include tenant farmers into the list beneficiaries.

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