PNS|Hyderabad
Bhongir Congress MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy asked Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to reveal when his government will give Rythu Bandhu funds to farmers who have not received it as they were facing financial problems and as the Kharif season has started.
Venkat sent a letter to the KCR regarding this on Thursday. In his letter, he said that farmers had started Kharif operations but lakhs of them have not received Rythu Bandhu funds. Farmers had started paddy cultivation but later changed to cotton crops. The farmers have no money as their funds ran out after purchasing paddy seeds. They are purchasing cotton seeds by borrowing money hoping that they will get Rythu Bandhu funds soon.
The Finance Department has released only some money under the scheme. The remaining farmers are waiting for Rythu Bandhu funds, he said. Venkat said that 70 lakh farmers are covered by the Rythu Bandhu scheme and that Rs 7,720 crore is needed to pay them Rythu Bandhu funds. “I came to know that banks are holding the money of farmers although the government deposited Rythu Bandhu funds in their accounts,” he said.
He condemned the government’s move of depositing funds in the bank accounts of farmers and keeping the money on hold to make farmers clear their loans.
He asked the government to resume depositing funds in the accounts of farmers so that they can speed up their agriculture activities. He warned that the Congress will launch a protest in case the government fails to do so.
He said that the debts of farmers have doubled due to the government’s failure to waive loans up to Rs 1 lakh.
