Khammam: The Rythu Bandhu scheme has led to reduction of lease amounts paid to landowners by tenants. In many villages, tenants are not coming forward to lease in lands that were tilled by them in the previous year till the land owners agreed to reduce the lease amount by at least Rs 500 per acre. This situation prevails in almost all villages.
As per the details, there are 1.5 lakh tenants in Khammam district as against government estimates of 1.10 lakh tenants. Only 55,000 tenants have obtained loan eligibility cards from government. The lease amount per acre being paid by them ranges from Rs 6,000 to Rs 15,000.
After the implementation of the Rythu Bandhu scheme, a serious debate is taking place on it. Under the scheme, tenants do not get any amount for farming and the amount is being paid to the landowners. At one estimate, 40 per cent of the land owners are not farming and are leasing out their lands to tenants. As the latter are not benefitted by the Rythu Bandhu scheme, they are asking the landowners to reduce the lease amounts.
Many landowners are now agreeing to reduce the lease amount. Tenants are not approaching landowners who do not reduce lease.
In Konigerla, five landowners, who have settled in Hyderabad, asked the tenants to increase the lease amount this year. The response from the tenants shocked them as they insisted that the landowners reduce the lease amount by 10 per cent of the amount collected last year.
As demanded by the tenants, the landowners reduced the lease amount per acre by `500.
