No change in Rythu Bandhu norms: Minister Niranjan Reddy

Hyderabad: Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy on Tuesday said that the State government would continue the same norms in the Rythu Bandhu scheme which were in place earlier.

The Minister was replying to a question raised by TRS MLA Ch Dharma Reddy and others on Rythu Bandhu scheme. The Minister stated that the government had provided investment support to the farmers at Rs 8,000 per acre per year including Rs 4,000 for two seasons.

During the 2019-20, the government decided to enhance the assistance from Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per acre for each season, which would be Rs 10,000 per acre per year, he said adding during the year 2018-19, 51.5 lakh farmers were benefitted. During the year 2019-20, the government is extending the assistance to 56.78 lakh farmers for the current Kharif season.

The minister mentioned that a total of Rs 10,505 crore were allocated in 2018-19. He said that during 2019-20, government allocated Rs 7,254 crores for Kharif 2019 season under the scheme.

Replying to various supplementary questions, Niranjan Reddy said that Rs 2,972 crores were pending for payment under the scheme.

The minister further said that the Central government had brought Kisan Samman Nidhi based on the Rythu Bandhu scheme. He alleged that the Centre's scheme was for namesake with many conditions and with an insufficient amount of Rs 6,000 in three phases. About 33 lakh farmers qualified for Kisan Samman Nidhi and Rs 125 crore was given so far.

The minister said that a farmer with five acres of land would get support of Rs 75,000 per year including the Rythu Bandhu assistance of Rs 50,000 and also the monthly pension of Rs 2,000 per month.

He brought to the notice of the House that the government has not imposed any limit for the schemes and same old norms would be followed.

He also asked the farmers not to believe in rumours about decreasing beneficiaries as the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has already assured the farmers about it and there is no other order effective than the Chief Minister's.