Vijayawada: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy released Rs 200 crore to benefit 8.68 lakh farmers towards input subsidy and zero interest rate loans, into their bank accounts at the press of a button, reiterating his commitment for welfare of farmers in the state.
Speaking on the occasion, the CM said that as several parts in the state witnessed rainfall and floods between July and October, nearly 45,998 farmers of agricultural and horticultural crops suffered losses due to crop damages and added that to help them overcome it, they were remitting input subsidy of nearly `40 crore into their bank accounts even before closure of kharif 2022 season.
Maintaining that their government initiated a new practice to provide input subsidy to the affected farmers in the same season of suffering crop loss, the Chief Minister said that so far 1,834 crore had been given to benefit 21,31,000 farmers since their government assumed power in the state.
On zero interest rate loans to the farmers, the Chief Minister said that `160.55 crore to benefit 8,22,411 farmers was remitted into the bank accounts of farmers who raised loans during rabi and kharif seasons in 2021 and paid the loans promptly.
He said that for the third consecutive year, they were implementing the zero interest rate loans to the farmers after taking e-crop data and conduct of social audit and added that so far, `1,834.55 crore was paid to 73.88 lakh farmers including the arrears left unpaid by the previous Telugu Desam regime.
Jagan Mohan Reddy slammed Telugu Desam chief N. Chandababu Naidu for duping the farmers with a promise to waive off `87,612 crore but releasing only `15,000 during his five-year tenure and blamed him for withdrawing the zero interest rate loans to farmers causing hardships to them as they were forced to pay interest on interest for availing farm loans from banks.
He said that in the last three years alone, their government had given farm loans to the tune of `25,971 crore under the Rytu Bharosa Scheme.
The Chief Minister said that their government introduced free crop insurance scheme to the farmers and linked it to RBKs wherein the state government used to pay premium for the insurance scheme based on e-crop data and added that so far, `6,685 crore was paid to the farmers who suffered crop loss under the scheme.
The Chief Minister claimed credit for bringing in nearly 10,778 RBKS which were providing quality and certified fertilisers, seeds and pesticides to help the farmers not to suffer crop loss by using substandard quality inputs and added that the village agriculture assistants were roped in to help the farmers to get all support for cultivation of crops.
