Maharashtra’s BJP-supported govt replicates Rythu Bandhu
Since the launch of the Rythu Bandhu scheme, the Telangana government has disbursed Rs.65,192 crore (from Vanakalam 2018 to Vanakalam 2022) to 65 lakh beneficiaries.
Hyderabad: With Telangana’s Rythu Bandhu being appreciated all over, even the neighbouring Maharashtra, which is ruled by a BJP-Shiv Sena combine, is replicating the scheme, though with a different name and lesser input for farmers.
Since the launch of the Rythu Bandhu scheme, the Telangana government has disbursed Rs.65,192 crore (from Vanakalam 2018 to Vanakalam 2022) to 65 lakh beneficiaries. Of these, 53 per cent belong to the BC category, around 13 per cent each belong to SC and ST categories and others constitute around 21 per cent of the beneficiaries, according to the Socio Economic Outlook – 2023 report.
Also Read
- Telangana: Panel to empower ryots with Agriculture tech info
- Telangana: Special steering panel to provide information on agricultural tech to farmers
- Working women are more desired as potential partner: New study
- Dainik Bhaskar editor booked for spreading rumours in Tamil Nadu
- A tale of two anti-BJP gatherings in South India
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) General Secretary Himanshu Tiwari said the Maharashtra government had announced the farmer investment provision due to the pressure exerted by the BRS. Tiwari said the demand for the scheme in Maharashtra had gained strength after Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao spoke about the assistance to farmers at his Nanded rally last month, following which the Maharashtra government announced the new provision in its budget.
Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, while addressing the State Assembly during the budget session on February 3, had said the State government’s Rythu Bandhu had drawn attention from across the world with even the United Nations applauding the programme. Telangana was the only State in the country, which had transferred Rs.65,000 crore to 65 lakh farmers as investment assistance. No other State achieved this historic feat, she added.
On Thursday, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Devendra Fadnavis, presenting the State Budget in the Assembly, announced that the government would transfer Rs 6,000 per year to bank accounts of farmers. Though, it was claimed that the scheme was introduced on the lines of the union Government’s PM-KISAN scheme, things are evident that it was inspired from Telangana’s Rythu Bandhu.
The Maharashtra government will bear the cost of Rs 6,900 crore for the direct transfer to farmers as part of the scheme, which will benefit 1.15 lakh farmer families, Fadnavis told the Assembly.
Telangana government extends investment assistance of Rs.10,000 per acre a year to each farmer. This was after the government increased the assistance from Rs.8,000 per acre a year in 2019. In the latest budget, the State government allocated Rs.15,075 crore towards implementation of the scheme.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, which was launched in 2019, in every four months period starting from April to July, August to November, and December to March of each fiscal year, the money is transferred to the farmers’ accounts in three equal installments of Rs 2,000 each.
This scheme uses Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode to send an amount of Rs 6,000 per year into the bank accounts of farming households across the country.
However, there have been charges from opposition parties that within two years since the launch of the PM KISAN scheme, the number of beneficiaries was cut down from 11.5 crore to 3.5 crore, citing payment of income tax, all institutional land holders, former and present holders of constitutional posts, professionals like doctors, engineers etc.
