Double bonanza for Telangana farmers

Telangana farmer is on a gravy train. He is now eligible not only for State government’s Rythu Bandhu, under which he gets paid Rs 10,000 per acre per year, but will also get Rs 6,000 per year from the Centre, if his land holding is less than five acres.Unlike the Food Security Scheme, in which the State government will get some amount to provide subsidised rice scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKSN) will not provide any relief to the State government as it implements Rythu Bandhu scheme.

Under PMKSN, the Centre will deposit Rs 6,000 directly into the accounts of farmers. Under this scheme, the amount is fixed and goes to the farmers’ family directly regardless of how much land he possesses.

If the Centre proposed to release the money necessary for depositing in farmers’ bank accounts to the State, it would have helped the State to save on the money it is spending on Rythu Bandhu. The sum of Rs 6,000 works out to 30 per cent of the amount dispersed by the State under its scheme.

The State government had declared that it will enhance the Rythu Bandhu scheme amount to Rs 10,000 per year per acre from 2019-20 financial year. If the Centre releases the amount to the State government under PMKSN, the State may save up to Rs 3,000 crore out of the Rs 10,000 crore it spends every year on Rythu Bandhu. But it is not going to work out that way.

“We have information that the Centre will get the details of the farmer and would directly deposit the amount into the accounts of individual farmers,” an official explained. There is also a vast difference between the PMKSN and Rythu Bandhu. Under PMKSN, the farmer is a unit. 

“If the farmer has one acre or five acres, he will get Rs 6,000 per year in three instalments. In Rythu Bandhu, the amount will be given taking the agriculture land as a unit. If farmer has one acre, he will get Rs 10,000 and if he has ten acres, he will get `1 lakh,” official sources explained. In Food Security Scheme, the State government is supplying rice at six kg per unit to around 2.86 crore at Rs 1 a kg. But, the Centre is extending coverage to 1.91 crore at 5 kg per family. 

Thus, the State is saving money on subsidised rice scheme. But, it is not possible for the State government to save money under Rythu Bandhu, even if the Centre implemented the PMKSN, according to official sources.Whether the State gets the relief or not the farmers are going to benefit immensely. The farmers will not only get R10,000 per acre per year from the State government, they will also get Rs 6,000 per year from the Centre.

According to sources, under PMKSN, around 80 per cent of Telangana farmers will benefit. According to officials, around 52 lakh farmers, after exclusion of Court dispute lands and others, are eligible for the Rythu Bandhu. Of which, 47.08 lakh farmers have below five acres of land, which is the eligible criteria for the PMKSN.