93% farmers paid Rythu Bandhu: Agriculture dept.

The Congress government has paid Rythu Bandhu financial aid to 92.68 per cent farmers in the state, the agriculture department has said. Up to March 28, 64,75,325 farmers received a total of `5,575 crore for the Yasangi season. All landowners with less than five acres have got full payment, covering 1,11,49,534 acres.

Those who got the aid are 22,24,870 farmers holding less than one acre; 17,72,675 owning two acres; 11,30,788 with three acres; 6,54,419 farmers with four acres land and 4,92,568 who hold up to five acres. As per the assurance of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, the Congress government paid Rythu Bandhu aid to 80 per cent farmers within the first 100 days, beginning with those owning less than one acre. Each farmer has received `6,000 per acre.

Revanth Reddy has made it clear that Rythu Bandhu will not be paid for barren land and those converted to real estate ventures.

He also directed the agriculture department to make an action plan to ensure the

Rythu Bandhu scheme is utilised properly and cautioned against handing out government funds to ineligible persons.

Agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao on Friday said that BRS government had ruined the state’s finances but the Congress government had sanctioned the Rythu Bandhu funds to protect the farmers.

He said poor by the BRS government had led to mismanaging of water in the reservoirs, resulting in water scarcity, he said. Nageswara Rao also pointed out that the BRS leaders had ignored farmers and were accusing the Congress government of not helping them.“we are committed to paying `10,000 compensation for crop damage due to hailstorms and untimely rains,” he said.