Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Saturday announced that a sum of Rs 5,000 per acre for rabi season will be credited in the bank accounts of farmers from December 28 under the Rythu Bandhu scheme.
However, he reiterated that paddy purchase centres will not be opened or paddy procured from farmers in rabi pointing to the BJP-led government at the Centre refusing to buy rice from Telagnana for the season.
In the review meeting held at Pragathi Bhavan, the Chief Minister asked district collectors and agriculture officials to approach farmers at the grassroot level to explain the Centre’s stand and protect them from incurring loss by sowing paddy in rabi.
He said that the state government will continue its ‘visionary’ agricultural policies to strengthen the rural economy of the state. Emphasizing on the need to plan the cultivation of crops in advance for the next kharif season, he told officials to promote cultivation of cotton, paddy and sorghum during the monsoon season instead of paddy.
The Chief Minister directed officials to complete disbursal of Rythu Bandhu amount to over 60 lakh farmers in the state within 10 days starting on December 28.
He said the government will not impose any restrictions on Rythu Bandhu but advised farmers not to sow paddy in rabi and get into trouble later as there was no question of state government buying paddy from farmers in rabi as was the norm all these years.
