Hyderabad: For the Kharif season, at least 10-lakh farmers have to receive financial benefits to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore under the Rythu Bandhu scheme. It is being suspected that payments have been suspended as the state government has no funds with it.
It may be recalled that Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao promised disbursement of unemployment allowance, subsidy for construction of own house, hike in social welfare pension amount besides making disbursements under the Rythu Bandhu.
The TRS government took the implementation of the Rythu Bandhu as the most prestigious issue. However, making disbursements under the scheme is going to delay for want of financial crunch.
During the current Kharif, only a part of the farmers received benefits under the scheme. In fact, the input subsidy should be disbursed prior to the commencement of the Kharif.
But the TRS government in its vote-on-account budget presented in February this year allocated only Rs 13,000 crore under the Rythu Bandhu. So far, it disbursed Rs 6,900 crore among 53-lakh farmers and 10-lakh more are yet to receive the benefits.
The Finance Department is yet to release funds to the agriculture department for the purpose.
Disbursements have been made to small and marginal farmers, payment of input subsidy to big farmers has been put on hold. The vote-on-account budget allocated Rs 6,000 crore to implement the loan waiver scheme, as against Rs 17,000 crore it allocated when the TRS was voted to power for the first time.
The Finance Department puts the requirements of funds to implement the loan waiver at Rs 20,000 crore. The government sources are optimistic that the government disburses the amount soon.