Govt releases Rythu Bandhu

•  Praja Vani to be held every Tuesday and Friday from 10 am to 1 pm
•  CM asks officials to prepare an action plan for Rs 2-lakh loan waiver scheme
•  Farmers with 5 acres to get Rythu Bandhu first
•  Farmers with 10 acres to get benefit depending on availability of funds

Hyderabad: Amid the reports of severe fund crunch, the State Government has started the release of Rythu Bandhu benefit to the farmers from Monday.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy took the major decision of depositing the money in the farmers’ bank accounts directly after a high-level meeting with Finance and Agriculture department officials.

The Chief Minister instructed the officials to prepare an action plan for the implementation of the promise of Rs 2 lakh loan waiver scheme which has been announced by the Congress in its election manifesto.

The CM, who reviewed the department for more than four hours on agriculture and the challenges facing the farmers’ issues including the disbursement of Rythu Bandhu benefit and requirement of funds to launch Rs 2 lakh loan waiver, decided to release Rythu Bandhu benefit.

Officials informed the Chief Minister that the Rythu Bandhu scheme benefit would be deposited by utilising the available funds. Sources said that the small farmers who own below five acres will get the benefit first. Those who own more than 10 acres land will get the benefit based on the availability of the funds in the current farming season. The Chief Minister cautioned the officials that the farmers should not get inconvenienced due to the delay in the release of crop investment assistance.

The Chief Minister also decided to change the Praja Darbar as Praja Vani from now onwards and organise the programme every Tuesday and Friday from 10 am to 1 pm at Praja Bhavan, special queue lines will be opened for differently abled and women.

To curb the growing drug abuse, Revanth said that a full-time Director will be appointed to the Telangana State Anti-Narcotic Bureau and provide adequate funds to strengthen the bureau. He instructed the officials to ensure Telangana will be a drug-free state.