Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has instructed the officials concerned to distribute passbooks and cheques as part of the financial assistance under the Investment Support Scheme for agriculture to all the farmers of the assigned lands, ROFR pattadars, non-tribals cultivating land in the agency areas and all the pattadars. The CM desired that under the district Collectors’ leadership, the entire administration should implement the program from May 10 for one week, commanding their entire strength, expertise and experience. The CM also suggested that the ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs and other local body representatives be made stakeholders in the program.
The Chief Minister held meeting at Pragati Bhavan here on Saturday with the district collectors, joint collectors, district agriculture officers, ministers, heads of the departments, Chief Secretary Sri SK Joshi, DGP Sri Mahender Reddy and others. The CM made several suggestions on the distribution of the passbooks and cheques.
“We have taken up the responsibility which no government in the country. Nobody till date ever made any attempt to survey the lands, issue new passbooks and provide financial assistance as investment support. We have formulated these schemes and implementing them”, the CM said.
The Chief Minister said, “We have to distribute 58 lakh passbooks and cheques. Printing of passbooks and cheque books was in the process of completion and would be over by this month end. Passbooks and cheques will be supplied district, mandal and village wise. We have made arrangements for the farmers to get cash for their cheques from the banks the moment they present them in the banks. We have set aside Rs 12,000 crore in the Budget for the Investment Support Scheme. We have arranged Rs 6,000 crore for the first phase of financial assistance to be distributed for the monsoon crops. This money is kept in the banks. The banks should pay cash to the farmers once farmer presents the cheque in the bank, or else action would be taken against the erring banks. Farmers should have cash on their hands before the onset of the monsoon. This is the reason why we are launching the program in May,” he explained.
“To make agriculture profitable in Telangana State and for the farmers’ welfare, the State government has taken many innovative measures. Farmers are throwing their produce on roads at several places in the world, as they are not getting the Minimum Support Price. They are suffering losses as they have failed to get their investment back. Therefore, we have decided to give financial assistance as investment support for agriculture. The government has decided to give Rs 8,000 assistance under the scheme per acre to the farmer”, the CM said.
“Farmers Coordination Committees are formed to organize the farmers, get them the MSP and to create awareness on cultivation and get them proper training. We have appointed 2,638 Agriculture Extension Officers, one officer per 5000 acres. We are constructing a dais per every farmers cluster. All these should be utilized. Coordination committee should be used to get MSP for the produce, impart training for farmers and to create crop colonies,” the CM said. (NSS)