2,233 crore deposited into account of 21.22 lakh farmers

Hyderabad: Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said Rs 2,233 crore have been deposited into the accounts of 21.22 lakh farmers under the Rythu Bandhu Scheme (RBS) in four phases. Directing the senior officials of the agriculture department here on Tuesday, the Minister asked them to ensure that the farmers are not faced with any problems in receiving the RBS funds.

The Minister said the RBS funds are deposited into the accounts of the farmers through the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Kuber system. However, in case any farmer wanted to change his RBS account, they can do so, by approaching the nearest agriculture office, he said. Similarly, Rs 4,837 crore has been paid to the government cooperatives, self-help groups, agriculture market committees for the disbursement to the farmers against paddy procurement.

Out of the remaining Rs 1,080 crore pending bills the State government has released Rs 501 crore on Tuesday, he said. Asking not to worry about the pending payments, the Minister directed the officials to ensure clearing the entire pending bills and ensure deposit of funds into the farmers accounts as the southwest monsoon is expected to reach the State in next few days.