* The Congress government is working to refine the Rythu Bharosa scheme, ensuring it supports genuine farmers while excluding ineligible beneficiaries

* In a first, applications will be invited during the gram sabhas to finalize the list of eligible farmers actively engaged in cultivation

Sowing seeds of benefits

* Targeted support for cultivating farmers

* No acreage limit likely

* Extensive awareness campaign

* Transparent and focused implementation

mahesh avadhutha I hyderabad

In a major rejig, the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Rythu Bharosa has proposed a significant change to the investment support scheme, recommending that financial assistance be extended exclusively to farmers’ actively cultivating or growing crops. This proposal, aimed at ensuring targeted benefits, will be presented to the state cabinet for final approval.

This marks a major shift from the Rythu Bandhu scheme of the previous BRS government, which provided benefits to all landowners, regardless of whether their agricultural land was under cultivation. The revised approach by the Congress government under its Rythu Bharosa scheme focuses on supporting genuine farmers engaged in agricultural production.

Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Ministers Thummala Nageshwara Rao, D Sridhar Babu, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and senior officials of the department held a meeting on Thursday at Secretariat.

Under the Rythu Bharosa scheme, farmers will be receiving a cash grant of Rs. 7,500 per acre per crop season to meet agricultural contingencies and boost production. The initiative aims to prevent farmers from resorting to high-interest personal loans, thereby mitigating financial distress and promoting sustainable farming practices.

The ministers’ panel vowed its commitment to support farmers who contribute to agricultural production by sowing and cultivating crops. It is also learnt that there will be no acreage limit for extending the investment support although in initial meetings there was discussions on fixing a limit

To ensure transparency and awareness, an extensive village-level campaign will be conducted, highlighting the Rythu Bharosa scheme and its benefits. Gram Sabhas will be organized on the 5th, 6th, and 7th of this month as part of the state’s commitment to people's governance.

The key highlights of the campaign include awareness in villages to educate farmers about the scheme. Further each mandal will be divided into three divisions, and gram sabhas will be held to reach out to every farmer.

If a farmer owns 10 acres of land, but does farming in only half of it, then Rythu Bharosa will be extended to only those 5 acres of land. It may be noted that the Congress government announced in its manifesto that investmentsupport at the rate of Rs 15,000 per year would be given to farmers for sowing crops for two seasons.

Govt. focus on benefitting genuine farmers

The Congress government is working to refine the Rythu Bharosa scheme, ensuring it supports genuine farmers while excluding ineligible beneficiaries. During the previous meeting of the Rythu Bharosa committee, potential changes to eligibility criteria were discussed.

The government is considering excluding government employees and their families owning agricultural lands, previously covered under the Rythu Bandhu program of the BRS government.

Debate also centered on whether farmers filing income tax returns should remain eligible. While opinions varied, the majority opposed disqualifying IT-paying farmers, leaving the final decision for future meetings.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, while addressing the Assembly recently, criticized the inclusion of non-agricultural landowners during the previous BRS regime and emphasized the need to prioritize farmers actively engaged in agriculture. The government aims to make Rythu Bharosa a focused, impactful scheme promoting agricultural development.

Despite financial constraints, Deputy CM Bhatti emphasized the government's commitment to the farmers’ investment support scheme. In its first year, Rs. 7,625 crore was disbursed as investment aid for 1.57 crore acres by the government.