HYDERABAD: The AP Land Licensed Cultivators Act, 2011 has been kept in cold storage and is likely to be abrogated by the Telangana government soon.
The Andhra Pradesh Land Licensed Cultivators Act, 2011 was enacted by the then YS Rajasekhara Reddy government in the erstwhile united state for giving some rights to tenant farmers. However, the TRS government is now of the view that only the land owner should have the rights. The government says that there is no clear-cut definition of tenant farmer.
As per the Act, a licensed cultivator means a farmer who cultivates the land of others with express or implied permission, either on payment of rent or any other means of consideration without exclusive possession, for one year or until the duration of crop, whichever is later, and whose name is not recorded in any of the revenue registers concerning that particular land.
But the TRS government holds a different opinion that there is no definition of tenant farmer and has decided not to extend the Rythu Bandhu benefits to tenant farmers. Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has made a categorical statement to this effect. That has given rise to the need for scrapping of the AP Licensed Cultivators Act, 2011. Otherwise, there is a possibility of anyone approaching the courts for implementation of the Act.
“As of now, the 2011 Act is in cold storage. We are not implementing its provisions,” officials in the revenue department told Express. Asked about scrapping of the Act, they said: “There is a political discussion on that. We cannot comment on the cancellation of the Act”. The officials, however, asserted that the Act was not in force.
When the combined Andhra Pradesh state was bifurcated, the Telangana government decided not to adapt the Bangaru Talli Act enacted by the Kiran Kumar Reddy government but Rajasekhara Reddy government’s Licensed Cultivators Act was adapted.
The Act The Andhra
Pradesh Land Licensed Cultivators Act, 2011 extends certain benefits to tenant farmers to get bank loans through loan eligibility cards, insurance, input subsidy and others