15 hours ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
Telangana govt to disburse Rs 9,000 crore to 70,11,984 farmers in 9 days under Rythu Bharosa
HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday announced that his government will disburse Rs 9,000 crore to farmers under the Rythu Bharosa Scheme over the next nine days. A total of 70,11,984 farmers will receive the assistance, covering 1.49 crore acres across the state.
'The aim is to ensure the well-being of farmers,' Revanth stated, adding that his regime has spent Rs 1,01,782 crore on farmer welfare over the past 18 months, including expenditure on paddy procurement.
The chief minister was taking part in 'Rythu Nestham', a video conference initiative enabling farmers to interact with agricultural experts and scientists at the Agriculture University. He also held an interaction with farmers through video link. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao and officials were present.
During the video conference, the chief minister accused the previous BRS government of failing to fulfil promises made to farmers. He claimed that the BRS government did not fully implement its loan waiver commitment. Of the total Rs 11,500 crore released for waiving farm loans, Rs 8,500 crore went towards interest payments, leaving only Rs 3,000 crore as direct benefit to farmers, Revanth alleged. He alleged that during its 10 years in power, the BRS regime spent only Rs 16,000–Rs 17,000 crore on farmer welfare.
Revanth alleged that former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had asked farmers not to cultivate paddy while cultivating paddy himself on his 150 acres. 'In contrast, the people's government is encouraging paddy cultivation and procurement of every grain produced,' he added.
The chief minister stated that his government was providing a bonus of Rs 500 for superfine paddy, enabling poor families to access quality rice. Telangana, he said, had become the leading state in paddy production with 2.8 crore metric tonnes.
