HYDERABAD: It will be raining money for agricultural landholders, tenant farmers and farm labour if the Warangal Declaration is implemented in letter and spirit -- contingent on the Congress coming to power in the State. The Congress has already described the Declaration as ‘historic’, notwithstanding the party’s critics saying that implementing it would mean pu-shing the already debt-ridden State further into the abyss. TPCC president A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday assured that the agreement entered between the Congress and farmers is possible, if the priorities were right.
During an interaction with media persons organised by ‘Telangana Journalistula Adhyayana Vedika’ in Hyderabad, Revanth took pains to explain the “how” behind the party’s plans to implement the Warangal Declaration.
What can create a feel good factor among both landowners and tenant farmers is that a Congress government would give ‘Indiramma Rythu Bharosa’ annual input financial assistance of Rs 15,000 to not only tenant farmers, but also the landowners, meaning that the support would be Rs 30,000 per acre. However, the rider was that only small and marginal farmers would be eligible for the Rythu Bharosa.
“Combining that amount with the promised minimum support price (MSP) for paddy being Rs 2,500 per quintal, assuming that the farmer gets 30 quintal yield per acre, the total support from the government will come to around Rs 30,000 to Rs 31,000 or in other words, the extra Rs 540 per quintal on MSP plus the Rs 15,000 per acre Rythu Bharosa amount,” Revanth said, visibly excited at the implication.
On the practicality of waiving crop loans to the tune of Rs 2 lakh at one go, he said that all the outstanding debts of the farmers combined till next el-ections, would come to around Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per acre.
Revanth’s workaround for these repayments is that within 30 days of coming to power, the State government will become the guarantor on behalf of all the farmers and would clear those debts instantly. He expressed confidence that a Congress government would be making Rs 7,000 crore repayments every year to banks for the next four years, which should be able to cover the entire debt including interest, which wouldn’t go beyond Rs 35,000 crore.
Observing that Dharani portal was introduced with the mindset of a feudal landlord to grab lakhs of acres around Hyderabad, Revanth assured that the entire exercise will be revisited and justice done to the rightful owners of lands.
Clear landing
On ownership rights of assigned lands to assignees and podu lands for Adivasis, Revanth said that the State government is anyhow taking away these lands from assignees.