English 
On the auspicious occasion of the Independence Day celebrations, honourable Chief Minister Sri K. Chandrashekar Rao decided to release the funds to the waiver of farm loans for another phase to free the farmers from the debt burden. Fulfilling the promise made during the elections, CM KCR implemented the farmers loan waiver scheme.
The CM said that the farmers who took loans less than Rs.1 lakh will be freed from the debt burden and decided to pay the loan amount up to Rs 99,999 to the banks. Special Chief Secretary to Finance, Ramakrishna Rao issued instructions in this regard on Monday. The Chief Minister said the money will be deposited in the banks immediately on behalf of the farmers. On the instructions of CM KCR, the finance department released Rs 5809.78 crore in respect of 9 lakh 2 thousand 843 farmers on Monday. The released amount will be deposited in the farmers accounts in the banks under loan waiver. After assuming power for a second consecutive time in 2018, CM KCR made the promise of waiving off farmers loans who took crop loans of less than Rs 1 lakh by December 11, 2018.
The CM also said that the loan waiver will be implemented in a phased manner. The Chief Minister directed the officials to formulate a comprehensive action related to farmer loan waiver. On the instruction of the Chief Minister, the officials of the Agriculture and Finance Departments wrote letters to the banks and got comprehensive details. It took a year to complete the entire process. Due to the Corona pandemic, lockdown and the consequences of demonetization in the country, the government faced a big difficulty in mobilizing the resources. However, it has already paid Rs 1943.64 crore to the banks in respect of 7,19,488 farmers who took loans up to Rs.50,000. This amount has been adjusted in loan waiver accounts. Recently, Rs.5,809.78 crore has been released for the loan waiver of farmers who owe up to Rs.99,999 rupees to the banks. On August 2nd, CM KCR held a comprehensive review of the agricultural sector and farmer loan waiver and announced that the farmer loan waiver scheme will be implemented. Clear instructions are given to the officials to complete the loan waiver process within 45 days.
Finance Minister Sri T Harish Rao also issued a Budget Releasing Order (BRO) on August 3 on the instructions of the Chief Minister. The release of loan waiver funds started on August 3rd. In accordance with the instructions given by CM KCR, fresh orders have been issued to settle the debt amount up to Rs 99,999. With the latest decision, a total of 16,66,899 farmers in the state will benefit.
45 days of action plan:
From the day the CM reviewed and announced the farmers’ loan waiver on August 2, Finance Minister Harish Rao and Special Principal Secretary of the Finance Department Ramakrishna Rao chalked out a 45 days action plan and executed the same. As part of this, daily reviews and meetings with bankers are held to implement the loan waiver scheme.
On August 3rd, Rs.237.85 crore were released in respect of 62,758 farmers who took loans up to Rs.41,000. Also, on August 4, Rs 126.50 crore loans were waived in respect of 31,339 39 farmers whose loans are under Rs. 43,000 and the funds were deposited in the bank accounts. The latest loan amounts up to Rs. 99,999 are deposited. The number of farmers who owe up to Rs. 99,999 is 9,02,843. The government will pay Rs. 5,809.78 crore to the banks in this regard. As a result, the government has paid Rs.7,753.43 crore to 16, 66, 899 farmers under the loan waiver scheme.
Telangana state has once again proved to be a farmer friendly state. Irrigation facilities have been provided like nowhere else in the country. In the name of Mission Kakatiya, 35,000 abandoned ponds and water bodies are repaired and a multi-purpose project like Kaleshwaram is constructed and creates a miracle in the field of irrigation. Making fertilizers available to farmers on time, providing seeds, stringent laws like the PD act to curb the sale of spurious seeds, buying every seed grown by the farmers, and providing marketing facilities to the farmers are among a slew of measures taken by CM KCR to strengthen the farming community in the state.
Soon after the formation of the government in 2014, CM KCR waived loans of up to Rs one lakh. With this decision taken by the Chief Minister, 35,32,000 farmers benefited. The government spent Rs. 16,144 crore for this. As a state government, without depending on the central government, it paid the amount to the banks and freed the farmers from the pending debts. During the 2018 elections, CM KCR announced a loan waiver of up to Rs one lakh as earlier done. Rs. 7,753.43 crore farm loans have been waived till today in respect of 16,66,899 farmers.
Rythu Bhima:
The Government introduced the Rythu Bima Scheme with the objective of supporting distressed farmer families. The objective of the scheme is to provide financial security to the family of the farmer in case of death due to any reason.
Insurance facility is provided to every farmer. The premium amount is borne by the government. One lakh 8,051 farmers who have died due to various reasons in the state have been supported to date. Rs. 5,402.55 crore insurance amount is paid to the bereaved families. Arrangements have been made to get the insurance money to the farmers within 15 days of the farmer’s death. No other state in the country is implementing such a wonderful insurance scheme for farmers.
Free Power to Agriculture:
Telangana is the only state in the country providing 24-hour free quality electricity to farmers. Free power is provided to 27 lakhs and 49 thousand agricultural connections in the state. In the past nine and a half years, the government has borne the cost of Rs. 96,288 crores to provide free electricity. Since the formation of the state, the government spent Rs. 32,700 crores for the creation of basic facilities in the power sector. No other state government spent such a huge amount on the power sector in just nine and a half years.
Rythu Bandhu Scheme:
Rythu Bandhu is the all-time big reform in the country’s farmers history. The scheme has been designed to directly benefit 65 lakh farmers in the state. A total of Rs. 71,552 crores has been deposited in the farmers’ accounts in 11 installments so far at the rate of Rs 10,000 per acre. Every year the number of farmers receiving Rythu Bandhu is increasing. This time, Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima have also been applied to the new farmers who got Podu land pattas. Rs. 200 crore has already been released to 1,51,469 farmers who owned 4 lakh 6thoudans acres of land. Rs. 400 crore alone is paid to farmers of Podu lands every year.
