Telangana crop scheme faces time & fund crunch

Hyderabad: A big challenge stares the Telangana state government in its face as it begins preparations for the implementation of the much-hyped Rs 4,000 Crop Investment scheme for farmers for every agricultural season beginning with kharif in June this year.

The government faces three problems: It has to keep Rs 6,000 crore in banks, issue cheques in the name of 70 lakh farmers and then distribute them to the beneficiaries on a single day on May 16.

Top officials of the state government said that the main daunting task before the government is to make available Rs 6,000 crore funds in the banks before the launch of the scheme in May. In view of the increased currency crisis due to various reasons, the government is struggling hard to ensure that the banks would have enough cash to disburse to farmers after it transfers the amount to the banks whose cheques it issues to the beneficiaries. 

This is because KCR wants the benefit to reach the farmers in the form of uncrossed cheques so that they could cash them at the bank’s counters. If money is transferred electronically into the farmers’ accounts, there is always the possibility of the banks adjusting the money credited to outstanding loans that the farmers may be having in the bank. Apart from this if money is given in the form of a cheque, it would have more impact as the farmers would get a feel of the money. This feeling would not be there if the money is transferred electronically.

There was no guarantee that RBI will make available required cash to the banks as it has already informed the government that it had pumped more cash into banks in the state than its quota.

Officials said that the preparation of 70 lakh cheques will be a big challenge before the government as well as the lead bank SBI (State Bank of India). The capacity of the India’s banking system was to generate 2 lakh cheques per day only.

To generate 70 lakh additional cheques, it requires at least three to four months’ time. After receiving the cheques, the government would have to print the name of beneficiary on 70 lakh cheques for which a huge mechanism needs to be established. A big network involving banks, Finance department and Agriculture department should work together to print the names of farmers on the cheques without any errors.

Officials said that distribution of cheques was another major challenge before the government. It is required to create a unique code and distribution network for every village, mandal and district. Without creating network, it will not be possible to monitor the progress in the distribution of cheques in a planned way.

State Finance department has already plunged into action and is holding series of meetings with bankers to ensure the implementation of the scheme without any hassles. The finance and bank officials discussed all the challenges. "We will meet Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and chalk out an action plan to address the challenges by January end," said an official of the Finance Department.