Wrong entry in patta passbooks deprives farmers of govt doles

Adilabad: While the majority of farmland owners are enjoying the benefits of Rythu Bandhu scheme, there are some farmers who are running pillar to post to get the annual input subsidy provided by the State government due some mistakes in their patta passbooks.

In the 18 mandals of Adilabad district there are 1.25 lakh farmers who cultivate 4.13 lakhs acres of land. So far government has issued 1.12 lakh patta passbooks to the farmers. However, there are 5,839 farmers who did not get the patta passbooks due to some mistakes.

According to one estimate there are about 40 to 50 farmers in every village who have not got the patta passbooks so far. Due to lack of patta passbooks even private financers are not coming forward to lend loans to these farmers.

Farmers from their respective mandals and villages visit the grievance cell in Adilabad on every Monday. Yet as the authorities are delaying, farmers have been forced to turn around the government offices for a year. Recently, farmers from Pippakoti village of Bheempur mandal, came to the office of the district headquarters for the patta passbook and complained that about 50 farmers in their village still did not get the same.

While the farmers are suffering because of mistakes, one the other hand, delay in printing of books have also created problems for them. Farmers are forced to withdraw from the government schemes, like Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bheema.

Obviously, due to wrong entry in their patta passbooks these farmers incurring losses as the banks are not giving them loans besides getting benefits of government schemes as these people are not eligible for such programmes. Moreover, they are also denied the insurance cover provided by the government.

A farmer Rajeshwar of Tamsi Mandal said that he has three acres agricultural land. After conducting survey of his land, the concerned officials did not issued patta passbook even after one year.

After all he has to work his fields his living. In the previous Kharif and Rabi season he had to borrow from the private merchants for the cultivation of cotton and peanut. At the same time, he lost the benefit of Rythu bandhu Rs 4000 per acre. For two crops he suffered a loss of Rs24,000 he would have got under Rythu Bandhu scheme and also bank loans, he said.

Therefore, he requests the government to issue the patta passbooks to the farmers like him as early as possible so that they do not face financial hurdles.