No input assistance to farmers opposing land acquisition

Farmers who have been unwilling to part with their land in villages that would be submerged under the proposed reservoirs are unlikely to get the government’s farm assistance of ₹4,000 per acre under the Rythu Bandhu scheme. For those who have sold the land, the scheme is not applicable as the land was acquired under GO 123 or the Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act-2016 (Telangana Amendment).

Officials said as primary notification for land acquisition had already been issued and acquisition was in progress, these villages were excluded from the scheme.

While the distribution of cheques to farmers would begin on May 10 amid much fanfare, the farmers of Gudatipally village have submitted a memorandum to the Collector, urging him to extend Rytu Bandhu to them as well. In the memorandum, which was signed by over 70 farmers of the village, they said, “No efforts were made to implement the scheme in our village despite repeated appeals to the agriculture officers. Some villages in Akkannapet mandal will be submerged under the proposed Gauravelli reservoir. While some farmers had sold their land to the government, others have retained it. As land owners, we are eligible for the scheme till the land is acquired. Hence, we request the government to extend the scheme to us.”

A similar representation was made in the past by the villagers of Vemulaghat in this regard, but so far, there has been no response. The farmers feel that they are being victimised. The oustees allege that they were being denied the benefit as they were not selling their land. They also said the Land Records Updation Programme, the data used to provide the benefits, was not conducted in villages that would be submerged. This has convinced the farmers that the scheme would not be extended to them.

An officer, on the condition of anonymity, said land-owning farmers would be eligible for Rythu Bandhu till land is acquired for any project. “If the land is going to be acquired before June 15, when the Kharif commences, they would not be eligible for the assistance. But in other cases, the government cannot deny them the benefit,” the officer said.