Tenant farmers in erstwhile Karimnagar yet to receive Rythu Bharosa assistance

Tenant farmers in the erstwhile Karimnagar district have alleged that they have not received financial assistance under the Rythu Bharosa scheme despite government assurances. Rising land rents and lack of support have increased their financial burden, prompting them to seek immediate relief

Karimnagar: Tenant farmers have not received financial assistance under the Rythu Bharosa scheme, even as landowners were paid a few instalments during the last two years. This is despite repeated assurances from the Congress government.

The Congress party, in its election manifesto, had promised to provide tenant farmers Rs 15,000 per acre per year under Rythu Bharosa on par with landowning farmers. However, tenant farmers said not a single rupee had been paid to them since the announcement of the scheme. Meanwhile, landowners have increased land rental charges depending on soil fertility and availability of irrigation water, citing non-payment of Rythu Bharosa during the last three agricultural seasons. This has further increased the financial burden on tenant farmers, who depend entirely on leased land for cultivation.

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In the erstwhile Karimnagar district, where farmers cultivate two crops annually due to adequate water availability from SRSP and Kakatiya canals as well as Yellampally and other irrigation sources, landowners are collecting rents ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per acre per year. In areas lacking assured irrigation facilities, rental charges range between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 per acre annually.

As a result, tenant farmers said they were facing severe financial distress due to the absence of Rythu Bharosa assistance as well as rising land lease costs, and urged the government to extend financial support to them on par with other farmers without further delay.

According to available data, there are 77,200 tenant farmers in the erstwhile Karimnagar district, including 19,500 in Karimnagar, 21,900 in Jagtial, 21,100 in Peddapalli and 14,700 in Rajanna-Sircilla.