The stage is being set for crediting the amount assured under the Rythu Bandhu Scheme (RBS) into the accounts of farmers during the current kharif season.
The government is said to have transferred ₹5,000 crore into the account of the Agriculture Commissioner through the Finance Department recently for making payment at ₹5,000 an acre to all eligible farmers enrolled under the RBS. In spite of the constraints on the financial front, the government made budgetary allocation of ₹12,000 crore for two crops under the RBS for the current financial year.
Crediting of the amount into the farmers accounts was, however, delayed a little as the official machinery is busy with enumeration relating to what crop should be raised where. The enumeration process follows Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s direction that farmers should cultivate crops in a regulated manner so that they would get remunerative price for cultivating crops which enjoy demand in the market. The Chief Minister took the decision in view of the losses being incurred by farmers due to excess supply than demand as all of them were raising the same crop.
The agriculture extension officers have accordingly taken up awareness campaign at the field level educating farmers on the need to opt for particular crops based on soil suitability and other factors. In addition, enumeration of new farmers as well as those who purchased lands from existing farmers who got the Pattadar passbooks transferred on their names is also underway so as to include them in RBS.
The government has fixed January 30 this year as cut-off date for such transactions for inclusion under RBS. These farmers were asked to submit their application forms along with a copy of their passbook, Aadhaar card and bank account details to the agriculture extension officers concerned. Verification of these claims is said to be underway and expected to be completed before this month end. Meanwhile, the Finance department is learnt to have issued budget release order for ₹300 crore towards construction of Rythu Vedikas, platforms for farmers’ interactions.
