TJS chief picks holes in agri sop

Telangana Jana Samiti chief Prof. M. Kodandaram Reddy on Sunday alleged that the TRS government was helping realtors, instead of farmers, with the Rythu Bandhu Scheme (RBS).

Speaking to reporters here he said while only 97 lakh acres were under cultivation across the state for the kharif season, the TRS government was giving away crop investment subsidy under the RBS for 1.4 crore acres.

“The uncultivated land is the property of realtors who use it for business purposes. We have seen people coming in swanky SUVs to take RBS cheques. As a result of this, `1,720 crore is going to realtors and non-land cultivating owners This is proof enough that there are loopholes in the RBS and we call upon the government to revise it and ensure that it benefits only the farmers.” he said.

Prof. Kodandaram suggested that the state government could have given Rythu Mitra ATM cards so that the farmers could purchase agricultural requirements like seeds and fertilisers.

He was speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a training programme on political awareness for party workers at Erragattu on the outskirts of the city.

Speaking about training classes on political awareness being held by the TJS, he said the party intended to educate its workers about government policies and the working of the government so that they could work better and create awareness in the rural areas. They would also understand the party ideology.

“Our party men will tour villages and hold mandal level membership campaigns soon. They need to be knowledgeable and not just be flag-bearers of the party. We are going to complete these training programmes by this month end.” he said.