VIJAYAWADA: In what is being touted as a game changer for the ruling TDP in the coming elections, the State government on Wednesday deposited Rs 3000 each in the bank accounts of 45 lakh farmers under the Annadata Sukhibhava scheme, an income guarantee programme introduced by the Chandrababu Naidu government ahead of elections.
According to sources, over 48 lakh farmers have been identified as beneficiaries under the Annadata Sukhibhava scheme and the government initiated the process of payment of Rs 3,000 each to as many as 44,99,843 farmers.
On Wednesday alone, the government deposited Rs 1,348 crore into the accounts of 44,96,128 farmers and the process will continue to cover the remaining beneficiaries in the coming days. However, payment to 3,725 farmers was rejected for various reasons.
After announcing a payout of Rs 15,000 each to farmers owning land up to five acres, including the Rs 6,000 Central aid per year, the State government also announced payment of Rs 10,000 on its own per annum to farmers who have more than five acres of land.
Though, the State government initially planned to deposit the amount in two phases - Rs 4,000 along with the Central component of Rs 2,000 - before the elections and the remaining Rs 5,000 before Kharif - started the process in February itself by depositing Rs 1,000 each in the bank accounts of beneficiaries under the Annadata Sukhibhava scheme commencing its implementation before the election notification was issued so that the Model Code of Conduct would not affect it. P6
As part of payment of the first installment of Rs 4,000, the government deposited Rs 1000 earlier and now deposited the remaining Rs 3,000. The total amount spent so far by the government on the scheme stood at Rs 1,799 crore.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India gave its nod to the State government to go ahead with payment of Rs 4,000 each to the members of DWCRA groups as the third installment under the Pasupu-Kumkuma scheme. As the process of identifying the beneficiaries was completed before the announcement of election schedule, the poll panel felt that there was no need for stopping the ongoing scheme.
The TDP government announced a financial aid of Rs 10,000 each to 97,94,202 members of DWCRA groups and issued three cheques each to every member. While the first two cheques for Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,500, dated February 1 and March 8, respectively were encashed by the beneficiaries, the last cheque (Rs 4000) can be encashed from April 5.
In a related development, the State government also decided to deposit the last two installments of debt-redemption schemes into the accounts of farmers in three to five days. The government will have to pay an amount of Rs 8,300 crore for clearing the two installments.