Chakrala Shekhar, a farmer from Pottipally village in Sadashivapet mandal, received ₹ 8,800 under the Rythu Bandhu scheme on Wednesday for the two-plus acres he owns . He is also cultivating about 10 acres land under tenancy, paying as lease amounts ranging from ₹ 8,000 (four acres), ₹ 13,000 (three acres) to ₹ 15,000 (three acres) per annum.
His landlords had also availed the investment support assistance of ₹ 4,000 this agricultural season under Rythu Bandhu and the total amount received by them was ₹ 40,000.
Similar is the case of Dakur Mallanna from the same village. Like Shekhar, he has also received Rytu Bandhu assistance and for the eight acres he owns he got ₹ 32,000. Mallanna has taken another eight acres on lease, paying ₹ 12,000 per acre.
In both the instances, landlords are not coming forward to pass on the Rythu Bandhu benefit to tenant farmers, who are the ones actually tilling the land. Many tenant farmers across the State are facing the same situation.
“None of the landlords are willing to reduce the lease amount or to part with the assistance extended by the government. The government knows who are the real farmers, but still is not ready to come to their rescue.
Ironically, even the ‘tenant farmers’ column was removed from the land records, implying that the government was not even ready to acknowledge their existence. What can anyone do?” asks a revenue official having some concern for the tenant farmers.
Oral agreements
An estimated 2.8 lakh tenant farmers are present in the erstwhile Medak district. Many of the farmers had already made agreements with the owners and paid advance amount. However, all these agreements are oral and there are no written agreements that confirm the lease between the tenant and the farmer.
