BRS urges govt. not to restrict loan waiver in the name of family and give it to all farmers
Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao says Rythu Bharosa guidelines are not finalised yet
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has requested the State government to extend the ₹2 lakh crop loan waiver to every farmer holding a pattadar passbook and having outstanding debt with banks up to that amount and not to restrict it in the name of family (ration cards) as every farmer needs it to keep them away from distress.
Speaking on the voting of demands for grants as part of the annual financial statement 2024-25 in the Assembly on Tuesday, BRS MLA Palla Rajeshwar Reddy said the implementation of the crop loan waiver scheme would require about ₹40,000 crore but the government had pruned the number of beneficiaries with several restrictions such as giving ₹2 lakh waiver benefit to a family based on ration cards and not the individual farmer in case a family has more than one farmer, separate passbooks and borrowing.
Intervening in the debate, Minister for Agriculture Tummala Nageswara Rao said all farmers were covered in the loan waiver scheme and the waiver amount would be ₹2 lakh per family. No other restrictions were imposed such as government employment or income tax payment. He stated that the previous government had wasted about ₹25,000 crore taxpayers’ money by giving it as Rythu Bandhu benefit even to lands which were not cultivated. He stated that the government is yet to finalise the guidelines for Rythu Bharosa only for those who cultivate the lands and said they would be discussed in the Assembly before finalisation.
Mr. Rajeshwar Reddy said it was due to the pro-farmer measures of the previous BRS government and support such as Rythu Bandhu, procurement, Rythu Bima, 24×7 free power to farming, no cess on water for irrigation and others that the extent of cultivation had gone up from 1.31 crore acres a year to over 2 crore acres a year between 2014 and 2023 and the production of paddy from 65 lakh tonnes year to over 3 crore tonnes a year.
At the same time, farmers’ suicides had come down between 2014 and 2023 as per the National Crime Records Bureau. He admitted that their government had given Rythu Bandhu benefit to the forest (podu) lands too for two seasons a year although only one crop is raised by them so as to encourage farmers.
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