Uttam blames TRS Govt for withholding of 31 lakh farmers' account

Hyderabad: Nalgonda MP & former TPCC President Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy strongly condemned the TRS Government for not honouring the promise of waiving off crop loans up to Rs. 1 lakh. He said banks have reportedly withheld the accounts of over 31 lakh farmers across the state for non-payment of the loan dues.

Addressing a series of meetings in different villages in the Nalgonda Lok Sabha constituency on the Day-4 of the Rachabanda/Rythu Bharosa Yatra on Tuesday, Uttam Kumar Reddy slammed Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao for not honouring the promise of waiving off crop loans up to Rs. 1 lakh even after completing more than three years in power in the second term. He said that with less than a fortnight left for the commencement of the Kharif season, the bank account of lakhs of farmers who took crop loans in the past have reportedly been kept on hold. It means that these farmers were not eligible to get fresh crop loans for the Kharif season. He pointed out that the TRS Govt had promised in the 2018 Assembly elections that it would waive off crop loans up to Rs. 1 lakh. But so far, only two instalments were cleared. While loans up to Rs. 25,000 were waived off in 2020, and in August 2021 loans up to Rs. 37,000 were cleared. Of 36.68 lakh farmers eligible for loan waiver up to Rs. 1 lakh, only 5.66 lakh farmers benefited from the last two installments. Therefore, the bank accounts of the remaining 31.02 lakh farmers have been kept on hold due to non-payment.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the over 31 lakh farmers would not be eligible to apply for fresh crop loans as the RBI rules mandates clearance of crop loans in three seasons from the time of credit offtake to be eligible for renewal of accounts. He also pointed out that Rs. Rs. 20,164.20 crores allocated in annual budgets since 2018 for waiver of crop loans, the TRS Govt released only Rs. 1,171.38 crore in two installments.

The Congress MP demanded that the State Government immediately credit Rs. 18,000 crore to the bank accounts of over 31 lakh farmers to ensure the renewal of their crop loans. Further, he said that the non-clearance of crop loan waiver amount in a single take deprived the farmers of benefiting from the Rythu Bandhu and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana schemes. The farmers were unable to utilise Rs. 5,000 per acre per season from Rythu Bandhu and Rs. 2,000 under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana as financial input as the banks have adjusted those amounts towards their outstanding that accumulated since 2018. He said that the TRS Govt did not learn from the mistakes it committed to implementing crop loan waiver schemes between 2014-2018. He said instead of clearing the loan amount in a single take, it was split into four instalments and it did not benefit the majority of farmers as a major portion of the amount released by the government got adjusted towards interest.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that CM KCR was distributing financial assistance to the families of Punjab farmers who died during the agitation against the BJP government's three farm laws. But he was neglecting the farmers of Telangana who are now being denied fresh loans due to non-clearance of old loans. Instead of prioritising the crop loan waiver scheme, the KCR Govt is shamelessly asking the farmers to clear off their outstanding on their own without waiting for it to release the amount.

The Nalgonda MP said that the non-renewal of crop loans by the banks has pushed lakhs of farmers into the trap of private money lenders who charge high-interest rates. He said that the situation would turn worse if immediate measures are not taken to renew the crop loans for over 31 lakh farmers. He also asked the TRS Govt to come up with a White Paper on the status of crop loans in Telangana State.

Addressing different meetings, former minister Dr J. Geetha Reddy said that the Warangal Declaration announced by AICC Leader Rahul Gandhi offers a comprehensive solution to all the problems being faced by the farming community. She said that the waiver of crop loans up to Rs. 2 lakh in a single take would provide immediate relief to lakhs of farmers. With no debts or bad loans, the financial assistance of Rs. 15,000 per annum would directly reach the farmers towards input cost. Further, the farmers will have a guarantee that the entire produce would be procured at a better MSP by the government. He said that the promises made in the Warangal Declaration would revolutionise the farming sector in Telangana after Congress returns to power in the next elections.

Uttam Kumar Reddy, Geetha Reddy and other leaders addressed the meetings in Yerragattu Thanda, Venkatarama Puram, Vepala Madharam, Revooru, Mellacherugu and Komarabanda villages in the Suryapet district today.