Telangana govt claims record Rs 1 lakh crore in agri welfare
Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday released Rs 9,000 crore under the Rythu Bharosa scheme for ongoing kharif season, promising direct financial support of Rs 6,000 per acre to every farmer, irrespective of the extent of land they own.
The Chief Minister said that all the 70,11,984 farmers owning a total of 1.49 crore acres of land will receive the benefit without any restrictions on landholding size. He assured that the amount will be credited in the accounts of all eligible farmers within the next nine days.
Addressing farmers via video conferencing during the Rythu Nestham programme held at Professor Jayashankar Telangana Agricultural University in Rajendranagar, on Monday, Revanth Reddy said the Congress government had spent over Rs 1 lakh crore in the past 18 months for the benefit of farmers.
Revanth Reddy also inaugurated video conferencing facilities across 1,034 Rythu Vedikas or farmer interaction centres set up in villages across the state, to strengthen last-mile connectivity and information flow to farmers.
Highlighting the government’s unprecedented efforts in farmer welfare, the Chief Minister said, “In the last 18 months, our Congress government has spent Rs 1,01,728 crore on the farming sector. This is a historic record not matched by any state or central government since Independence.”
Revanth Reddy said that under the Congress government, Telangana had implemented India’s largest-ever crop loan waiver scheme, waiving up to Rs 2 lakh per farmer for 25 lakh farmers at a total cost of Rs 21,000 crore. Additionally, Rs 13,088 crore was spent on Rythu Bharosa, Rs 1,119 crore on paddy bonus payments of Rs 500 per quintal, Rs 2,121 crore for the Rythu Bima insurance scheme, Rs 16,691 crore for free power to 29 lakh agricultural pump sets and Rs 11,000 crore on irrigation projects.
Taking a sharp dig at the previous BRS regime, Revanth Reddy accused it of betraying the farming community with unfulfilled promises. “In the last 10 years of the BRS rule, only Rs 16,000 crore was released for crop loan waivers, most of which went to pay interest. The actual waiver was just Rs 3,000 crore,” he alleged.
He blamed the BRS government for leaving the state in deep financial distress, with a debt burden of Rs 8.2 lakh crore. “Despite this, we are moving ahead with strict financial discipline and delivering on our promises,” he asserted.
The Chief Minister called upon farmers to consider crop diversification and instructed officials to promote commercial crops and solar-powered pump sets. He reiterated the government's commitment to sustainable agriculture and farmer welfare.
“Telangana now ranks number one in paddy cultivation. Encouraging farmers to grow sanna vadlu (fine rice varieties) has allowed us to distribute fine rice to the poor,” he said.
Condemning the criticism by BRS leaders, Revanth Reddy said, “Those who failed to deliver anything in 10 years are now roaming in the streets and staging protests. They brought the state to the brink and yet shamelessly pointed fingers at us,” he said.
He urged the public to give his government time to correct past mistakes of the BRS regime and rebuild Telangana. “We came to power with the blessings of farmers, and we will rule for 10 years despite protests and theatrics,” he declared.
“When I see happiness in the eyes of farmers, I feel truly fulfilled as the Chief Minister. That is my biggest reward,” he said.
On Day 1, the state government released Rs 2,350 crores to 41.25 lakh farmers owning up to 2 acres each on Monday. Of them, Rs 813 crore was released to 24,22,678 farmers owning up to 1 acre each and Rs 1,537 crore was released to 17,02,611 farmers owning up to 2 acres each.
