HYDERABAD: Even as the state government started disbursal of Rythu Bharosa amounts for the current Kharif season, confusion and concerns continue to prevail among farmers over the status of pending arrears from the previous agricultural season.
The disbursement process, which began this week, marks the continuation of the state’s flagship crop input subsidy scheme aimed at easing the financial burden on cultivators.
Sources privy to the matter informed TNIE that the state government is of the opinion that there is no point in providing input subsidy for the crop season that has already ended. The government has not made an announcement on whether or not it would credit the Rythu Bharosa arrears into the accounts of farmers.
It is pertinent to note that the input subsidy was credited only to farmers owning up to four acres of land during the previous season. Farmers holding more than four acres were not extended the monetary benefit for reasons best known to the government.
Many of these farmers, predominantly in the medium to large-scale category, have since been waiting for the promised assistance — a delay that has now stretched into the rainy season. Despite repeated assurances, there has been no formal announcement on whether the arrears would be settled.
As the Congress government enhanced the annual financial assistance from Rs 10,000 per acre to Rs 12,000 per acre, the farmers are eagerly waiting to reap the benefit as it would enable them to invest in better seeds, fertilisers and irrigation.
On June 16, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy symbolically initiated the process of depositing Rs 9,000 crore in the accounts of farmers under the Rythu Bharosa scheme.
The chief minister had noted that the Rythu Bharosa amounts will be credited within nine days. It remains to be seen whether the government would also disburse the Rythu Bharosa arrears.