Rs 65,000 cr in 5 years; Rythu Bandhu goes strong

Rythu Bandhu, which received an overwhelming response in the State, turned out to be a path-breaking initiative, forcing even the BJP-led Central government to think on similar lines at the national level

Hyderabad: Rythu Bandhu, the dream initiative of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao with which he extended a helping hand to the peasant community when it was enmeshed in a web of misery, completed five years on Wednesday. A staggering 70 lakh farmers, who benefited by Rs 65,000 crore paid to them in 10 installments so far, celebrated the occasion across Telangana.

After several rounds of stock-taking over the wretched conditions in which the farmers lived in the State, the Chief Minister felt the need to pass on direct benefits to them to relieve them from financial distress and their dependence on moneylenders.

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He announced the scheme at a conference of the Rythu Samanvaya Samiti at the Prof Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University on February 25, 2018. A budgetary allocation of Rs 12,000 crore was made in the same year before the scheme was formally launched at Dharmarajpalli village in Karimnagar district on May 10, 2018.

Rythu Bandhu, which received an overwhelming response in the State, turned out to be a path-breaking initiative, forcing even the BJP-led Central government to think on similar lines at the national level. The launch of the PM Kisan Yojana by the Centre and the Kalia programme by the BJD government in Odisha were inspired by Rythu Bandhu.

The State government extended assistance to farmers by disbursing 10 installments under the scheme so far. A sum of Rs 7,217.54 crore was released as assistance for 144.35 lakh acres benefiting 63.97 lakh farmers during Yasangi this year.

Additionally, Rythu Bandhu was acclaimed by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations as one of the top 20 schemes that proved to be most useful for farmers in the world.

In continuity of its pro-farmer policies, the State government introduced Rythu Bima, under which it extends an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh to farmers. The main objective of the Farmers Group Life Insurance Scheme (Rythu Bima) is to provide financial relief and social security to families and dependents in case of the death of a farmer due to any reason. A total of 99,297 farmers’ families have received Rs 4,965 crore under Rythu Bima so far.