Hyderabad: Several public organisations launched a united front called the “Telangana Tenant Farmers Recognition Committee,” to demand that the Congress government honour its pre-election promises.
Declaring a struggle for recognition of farmers, the Rythu Swarajya Vedika group formed the committee to draft a joint action plan. During a roundtable meeting, the participants expressed outrage over the Congress-led state government.
Citing a concerning statistic of 80 per cent of farmer suicides involve tenants in Telangana, the group warned that government negligence is driving 36 per cent of the state’s agricultural workforce into debt and despair.
“Due to a lack of bank loans and government schemes, they are trapped in extreme distress and mounting debt,” the organisation said in a release.
Led by renowned economist Professor D Narasimha Reddy, the committee called for the immediate implementation of the 2011 Land Licensed Cultivators Act, emphasising that its provisions hold the government responsible for issuing Loan Eligibility Cards (LEC) to grant access schemes and crop loans.
Field activists and tenant farmers hailing from different districts explained that the absence of a landowner and lack of “Pattadar Passbooks” results in significant losses, specifically during urea distribution, subsidy schemes, selling harvested crops and claiming compensation for crop loss
Pattadar passbooks are land ownership documents that contain details such as survey numbers, land extent and owner information.
During the meeting, the Kisan Mitra team performed a play to show the struggles of tenant farmers while dealing with government officials and landowners.
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