The State government has mobilised ₹1,000 crore as State Development Loan from the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday as the stage is being set for crediting the amounts under the Rythu Bandhu scheme into the accounts of eligible farmers.
The latest loan with a tenure of 20 years and weighted average yield of 8.5% takes the total loan amount mobilised from the RBI to ₹12,750 crore since April this year. The government had first drawn ₹6,000 crore since April ahead of the launch of the scheme to ensure that there is adequate cash reserve in the banks so that eligible farmers are not put to inconvenience. In the first phase of the scheme, an amount of ₹5,437.56 crore had been released for 58.16 lakh eligible farmers. Of this, an amount of ₹5,203.58 crore had been cleared by the banks for payment to 51.40 lakh farmers.
With the Election Commission giving its go ahead for distribution of money under Rythu Bandhu, subject to fulfilment of certain conditions, the government has decided to credit the amounts in the accounts of eligible farmers, of course, without any fanfare.
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Agriculture Department officials have accordingly decided to make a trial run of the process on Saturday by collecting sample data of eligible farmers and credit the amount into their respective accounts as per eligibility. Once the effectiveness of the money transfer is established during the initial checks, the department will take up money transfers the process on regular basis from Monday.
“Farmers will be informed about the amount being credited into their respective accounts through SMS on their mobile phones. Our officials at the grass root level will guide farmers who do not use mobiles about the banks in which their eligible amount is credited,” a senior official told The Hindu .