Andhra Pradesh Tenant Farmers’ Association vice-president V. Srinivasa Rao on Monday alleged that of the nearly 1.5 lakh tenant farmers in the State, only 1,500 received the benefit under the Rythu Bharosa scheme in by early November.
Hundreds of tenant farmers, including women, staged a dharna in front of the Collectorate , raising slogans against the government for ignoring their woes.
‘Repeal the Act’
“The struggle of tenant farmers began with the introduction of the Andhra Pradesh Crop Cultivator Rights Act 2019 that made “consent of the landowner” mandatory for the tenant farmer to obtain the Crop Cultivator Rights Card (CCRC), a gateway to get access to all benefits from the government,” said Mr. Srinivasa Rao.
The Andhra Pradesh Rythukuli Sangham members, Krishna District Tenant Farmers Association activists led by its district president M. Haribabu demanded that the government repeal the Act, scrapping the clause of “landowner consent” to guarantee the benefits meant for the tenant farmers.
The tenant farmer activists also demanded the implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Land Licensed Cultivators Act 2011, which enables tenant farmers to establish their tenancy during grama sabhas conducted by the Revenue Department.
The tenant farmers warned that they would not relent until the government did away with the landowner consent clause. Later, they handed over their charter of demands to Deputy Collector Chakrapani.
