Hyderabad: Welcoming Telangana government’s relief of Rs 10,000 per acre to farmers affected by unseasonal rains, Rythu Swarjya Vedika (RSV) has demanded that it should not be one-time, make a policy decision on crop damage compensation.
It also demanded the identification of Tenant farmers as per 2011 Act.
Responding to Thursday’s announcement by the Telangana Chief Minister giving disaster relief assistance to farmers whose crops were damaged, including tenant farmers, RSV organized a Press meet at Somajiguda press club, with Flood-affected farmers and Tenant farmers from 4 districts describing their situation and response to the CM’s announcement.
Senior activists of RSV, Vissa Kiran Kumar, B.Kondala Reddy, Kanneganti Ravi and S.Ashalatha shared about the persistent campaign by RSV on the issues of crop damage and tenant farmers and put forward the key demands.
“The government’s announcement of yesterday is the result of the strong demand of affected farmers and the persistent campaign on these issues by RSV and other organizations.
We welcome the government’s decision to provide Rs.10,000 per acre support for crop damage in 2.2 lakh acres during March 2023, and to direct the support to tenant farmers wherever they are cultivating.
This vindicates RSV’s stand on the importance of addressing the issues of tenant farmers and crop damage. RSV has been campaigning on these issues for several years, by organizing farmers, petitioning government officials, organizing protests and fighting court cases,” stated the RSV leaders.
However, RSV activists said, “If the government is serious about addressing the issues on an ongoing basis, this support should not remain a one-time exercise for the damage caused in this month, but made into a policy decision.
Lakhs of acres of crop damage is being suffered every season by farmers due to natural calamities or pest attacks. Telangana government should announce a policy decision to give Rs.10,000 per acre support to all affected farmers, and to do the enumeration of affected farmers immediately after the calamity in a routine manner – not related to political developments.
The identification and inclusion of Tenant Farmers should not be a one-time measure, but it should be done every year, as required by the Licensed Cultivators Act, 2011. Only then, the distress of the farmers in the state will be addressed,” they said.
Two flood-affected farmers from Kupti village, Neredigonda Mandal, Adilabad district, Badha Venkataramana and Haridas Ramanayya shared their situation.
Venakataramana said, “More than 50 farmers in our village suffered severe crop damage during the heavy rains and floods of July 2022. We are asking the Chief Minister – you should give disaster relief support to us too! I cultivated 5 acres of leased land and 5 acres of own land, and completely lost my cotton and soybean crops. Officials visited and noted the details but we did not receive any compensation.
The RSV demanded that the state Government should announce policy decisions on Rs.10,000 per acre disaster relief support for crop damage and inclusion of tenant farmers, for all calamities in recent years and in the future, disaster relief support should be provided to affected farmers of the last 3 years.
Effective & Farmer-friendly Crop Insurance scheme should be implemented in the state, releasing the Notification by May 1, 2023 so that it comes into effect immediately for Kharif 2023.
Tenant Farmers should be identified every year, as per Licensed Cultivators Act 2011, provided LEC cards, and given benefit of all government schemes & support systems including crop loans. Tenant farmers should be noted in the E-crop booking system also.
